Blindly
by sendcassie
Summary: Daryl Dixon comes across an abandoned girl who is his opposite in many ways. He rescues her and decides that he should be the one to protect her after finding she has an interesting affliction. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

I take no claim for any of the Walking Dead themes or characters.

Here's a new Darryl/OC for you Walking Dead fans out there! Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think and if you'd like me to continue, please.

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><p>It was a mistake to walk this far into the woods. Walkers were everywhere. He could hear them groaning from all directions, sticks snapping underneath their heavy and sloppy feet. The slow and imprecise crunching of leaves sounded all around him. Daryl Dixon certainly didn't have enough arrows to shoot every one of them, and even if he did, he didn't have enough time to take them all down. There were just too many for him to take care of himself, so the only thing he could do at this point was run.<p>

"Fuck this." He groaned angrily and slapped his crossbow over his shoulder, securing it and devising a plan as he ran.

Running straight to the camp would be too dangerous. If he lead the walkers back it would be disastrous. Not that he particularly cared for any of the people there though. He knew they all looked down on him and thought he was no good. He didn't give a shit though. For now he would stay with the group. What else would he do? In the back of his mind he knew that his brother, Merle, was probably walker food by this point. If the trail of blood from his hand hadn't lead the walkers to him by now, Daryl figured his damn overconfidence and stupidity would have done the trick.

The branches flew by him as he made progress away from the swarm. He looked back quickly and saw that the group behind him had diminished greatly. Several had tripped on the roots veining over the dirt ground, others had been distracted by other noises in the woods. Daryl took off east, away from the camp, and blazed through the trees.

The squirrels and few rabbits he had collected bluntly swung from his belt, drumming a constant beat onto his thigh. He was looking for the girl, Sophia, and had encountered the small game along the way. Maybe if he could circle back around to where he was headed he could still search the area he had intended to today.

After acquiring a map from the old doctor, Hershel Greene, the group had been marking places they had already looked as well as other likely areas they could travel to within the coming weeks. Daryl saw an area he thought he was likely; close to a larger part of the stream but not yet close enough to the highway they had lost her near, and headed out at dawn.

He ran for a while, veering first away from the camp, then wrapping back around to the section of land he wanted to search. It was a quick job getting rid of the walkers. For creatures that ate brains you'd think they'd be smarter. Daryl laughed to himself and slowed his pace, carefully combing through the trees for any signs of life, either natural or unnatural.

The area was quiet besides the twinkling of running water in the brook. The water was deeper here, more of a place for fishing than the shallow water Rick had lost her in. Sharply gazing through the trees, Daryl spotted an old fishing shack up ahead. It half sat on the water, a tiny dock underneath it. The wooden sides looked old and slightly rotted, however it was still a good shelter despite its age.

With his eyes on the building ahead, Daryl walked closer. His eyes shot to the ground for a moment, noticing something among the brush. An old, rusted hammer lay haphazardly underneath some ferns. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he quickly reached his strong, thick arm up over his wide shoulder and grabbed the crossbow he strapped to his back earlier. Holding it in front of him, he peered through the sights and walked up to the old building like a panther stalking its prey.

Turning a corner to face the door, his eyes went a little wider than normal. His scruffy jaw dropped almost unnoticeably and he gripped his crossbow even tighter.

The door of the small, ten foot by ten foot shack had been completely boarded up from the outside. It was hastily done, with nails half hanging out, bent, and unevenly placed. There were dozens upon dozens of different sized nails lining the boards planked over the door. Claw marks scratched into the wooden boards at all angles. A bucket of white paint had been chucked onto the ground near the left side of the wall, its contents long spilt onto the surrounding ground and grass like starchy white vomit. The brush had dried to the inside of the container, leaves stuck to the bristles for what looked like a long while.

The reason for the bucket of paint and brush was clear. A message had been sloppily painted onto the wooden boards, drips of paint leaked from the letters and down the wooden siding.

_ALIVE INSIDE_

Daryl paused, soaking in the gravity of the note.

Sure, he had seen the graffiti around Atlanta when the other survivors had spray painted sayings like "_Dead Inside"_ on various garages, signs, buildings and doorsto warn other survivors who come across the area, but never had he seen something like this.

His mind raced. Did that mean that someone was in there? The message says their alive, but who knows how long they have been trapped in there. Was it more than one person? Why were they boarded inside in the first place? _Who_ exactly boarded them in anyways?

Daryl looked around the surrounding area to make sure there were no walkers lurking about. After making sure the coast was clear, he lowered his crossbow slightly.

"Anybody in there?" He quietly called out, his neck slightly craning towards the blocked door.

Nothing called back.

Speaking up, he walked closer and tried again. "Is there anybody in there?"

Daryl closed his sharp blue eyes and focused his ears on the inside of the fishing hut. Ever so softly, he heard a reply.

"_Help me_."

It was female, and it was weak. It was alive.

His eyes sprang open and he jumped, almost tripping on a root below him. A plan immediately came into place in his mind and he moved into action.

Re-strapping his crossbow to his back, Daryl ran back twenty feet to the patch of green ferns hiding the hammer he came across several minutes ago. His dirty hand wove through the leaves, searching for the tool that would help him get the girl out from the shack. After only a few second of fruitless search, Daryl started ripping the plants out of the ground. The dirt clumped roots showered chunks of soil onto his knees and boots before he chucked the ferns behind him in haste. His fingers groped the hammer and he yanked its half buried handle out of the ground. Daryl sprinted through the trees back to the fishing shack with the newly acquired tool.

"I'mma get you out, miss," Daryl called out loudly to the girl, hoping she was still conscious enough to understand.

One by one Daryl yanked out the old rusted, half bent nails, letting them fall to the ground like a metallic rain. If a nail was stuck he banged the damn thing until the wood broke off in chunks. He worked from the top to the bottom, ripping off the boards once the nails were mostly all out and chucked them into the woods.

After seven boards he grew frustrated. Whoever did this made sure that nothing would easily be able to break in. It looked sloppily done at first glance, but the construction was almost masterful. Daryl was a strong man and could take care of himself but other people would have a rough job deconstructing this.

He worked diligently and silently. Enough noise was already being made from the hammer and the ever constant cracking and splintering of wood. Every few moments Daryl paused and listened for anything approaching the area. Nothing so far.

After yanking off the last board, Daryl dropped the hammer by his feet with a thud. The door to the shed was riddled with holes from the nails. Daryl pushed gripped the old knob and pushed it open quickly. Sunlight leaked though the door and illuminated the damp room. The only source of sunlight came from a window on the far side that had been left open an inch, but he could tell it was also nailed shut. It was open for ventilation only, not for entrance.

Underneath the window was a body of the girl who had called out, laying on the wooden floor. It was frail and lithe. Her skin was pale like the moon but covered in dirt smudges. She was scrunched up in the fetal position and holding her knees to her chest. Daryl could barely tell she was breathing.

The sound of his boots reverberated around the one room shack as he softly tred inside, dodging empty cans of food. When he reached the girl he knelt on one knee next to her. Her face was covered by her hair. It was extremely long, trailing off around her in loose dark auburn curls.

"Can you stand?" Daryl's voice broke the silence.

The girl, probably in her very early twenties, moved for the first time. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes. They were the color of icebergs. As soon as she moved she winced.

A delicate, thin fingered hand lifted itself from her knees and brushed some of the tendrils of hair out of her face. She was wearing cut-off jean shorts and a billowy pale blue top with lace trim. Her face looked exhausted, famished, worried, and afraid. There were smudged trails of tears underneath her extremely pale blue eyes. Daryl could tell she was wounded, but couldn't tell where.

Focusing in on her, he spoke, "Where are ya' hurt?"

The girl pointed down. Daryl looked down at the girl's leg and noticed the swelling around her ankle.

Holding a hand up to his forehead, Daryl shook his head, "Shit, that looks bad."

It was quiet for a moment while Daryl stared at her. She was beautiful, even with the dirt all over her. Her frame was small, she was short as well, probably only about 5'5''. She couldn't weigh more than a hundred pounds. Her waist was tapered and small, her bosoms were round along with her bottom. Daryl was pretty sure he could hold both of her wrists in one of his hands. She was delicately beautiful. Frail. Breakable. He felt himself wanting to protect her.

A look of terror overcame her face. She looked outside of the door, her thoughts far away from the small hut. Immediately she sat up and pushed herself backwards into a corner, holding her knees back to her. Small, quiet whimpers came from her full, pink lips.

Daryl whipped his head around to the entrance of the fishing shack. Instinctively he grabbed hold of the crossbow on his back and held it up in front of him.

Distant twigs snapped. Low growls called from up the stream.

Walkers.

"Fuck!" Daryl yelled and lowly turned his head back to the girl shaking in the corner. He got to his feet quickly and jumped over to the corner where she sat, leaning over and picking her up by the waist, hoisting her up over his shoulder. "We've gotta' hit the road, doll."

The girl didn't struggle; all she did was secure herself onto the stranger's shoulder and hugged him around the waist tightly, shutting her eyes.

Daryl held her by the back of her thighs and took off running out of the shack and back towards the camp. A wandering walker was up ahead of them. It shuffled across the floor like a deranged raccoon. It was missing an arm, but what was left of it had wriggling maggots weaving across the bloody stump. Its clothes were torn and rank. Aiming and shooting, Daryl's arrow sliced through the dead man's eye. The body fell to the floor with a thump. As soon as Daryl caught up to it, he retrieved the dripping arrow with ease and reloaded.

The pack from before must have relocated him and caught up. He didn't do a good enough job losing them. "Fuck me," he muttered underneath his breath.

A female walker was crawling over the ground. She was missing half of her face; the only thing left on one side was yellowed skull and mangled brain matter. Daryl kicked her in the face to finish off the job someone had previously started and kept running.

The girl on his shoulder squeaked in fear every time she felt him kill one of the walkers. Unintentionally Daryl found himself rubbing her thigh in comfort as he made his way back through the trees, killing walkers along the way. A trail of rotting corpses laid behind them like breadcrumbs in a fairytale. Even though the girl was extremely light, after a while of carrying her he felt the muscles in his shoulder and upper back start to ache. With every leap he took across the woods Daryl felt the girl bobbing slightly, her breasts bumping against his back.

The sky was starting to deepen in hue. The afternoon sun was falling to dusk. Daryl's breath came in heavy and labored. He hadn't seen another walked in a while and figured he had killed most of them. It was getting dark in the forest.

Daryl could see the break in the trees up ahead. His legs bound even faster and his breathing became even louder. Hershel's farm house loomed in the distance. Eyes on the destination, Daryl sped up as fast as he could travel, now darting through an overgrown field of wheat. He heard the girl yelp and then go quiet. Daryl felt a presence and paused. Turning to the left, he spotted a sickly hand on her shoulder. A half eaten walker lay hidden amongst the brush, growling and snarling.

"Fuck off!" Daryl shot the walker through his mouth then pulled the arrow back out. He stomped on its head until blood and flesh squished out from underneath his boot. Daryl yelled with every hit.

Kicking its decrepit arm away from them, Daryl readjusted the girl on his shoulder and started running back to their camp on the edge of the Hershel property. Her arms no longer held his waist, instead they hung from her shoulders limply swinging back and forth with every step he took. She must have fainted, either from being frightened or from the pain her ankle was in. It was probably stressed out from being upside down and smacking into his chest every few seconds.

It was only a few moments before he made it to the camp. Almost there, he slightly changed paths and darted to the farm house instead. Daryl jumped up the steps two at a time and banged on the front door.

"Daryl what's going on?" Rick Grimes called from behind him. The cop jogged up to Daryl on the front porch.

"What that fuck does it look like I'm doin'?" Daryl pounded on the door again. "Would somebody open tha' fuckin' door! God _dammit_!"

Rick noticed the girl on his shoulder and bent down to inspect her, a worried look in his eyes, "Sophia?"

"No," Daryl answered quickly.

The front door opened and a slightly annoyed Hershel Greene stood inside the home, his arm holding onto the door jam, "What exactly do you mean by slamming on my door at this time in the evening?" His stern eyes glanced at Rick like it was his doing.

Daryl pushed his way inside and stomped into the room where Rick's boy, Carl, had been healing the day before. He laid the girl onto the bed gently and looked up to Hershel Greene, "Can you fix 'er up?"

Hershel looked mildly flabbergasted at the intrusion, but his relative good nature came in and he briskly walked to the bedside.

Rick followed and continued to ask questions, "Who is she, Daryl?"

Man, this guy just does not shut up. Daryl shook his head in annoyance and threw his hands out in front of him, "How tha' fuck do I know, officer? I just want you to fix her."

The commotion brought the attention of the other people in the house and on the property. Beth and Maggie Greene, Hershel's daughters, walked into the room with concerned looks on their faces. Maggie's eyes went wide and she put a hand to her mouth, "She bit?"

Rick, who was also about to say the same thing, turned to Daryl as well with an expectant look on his face.

Daryl shook his head, "Naw, she 'aint bit."

Hershel had been inspecting the unconscious girl and called to one of his daughters, "I need some antiseptic, hot towels, and bandages."

Beth took off quickly to retrieve the items. Maggie lingered for a moment with a concerned look, but quickly followed her sister.

Daryl felt Rick grab his muscled arm and pull him out of the room and out onto the porch. He followed the officer begrudgingly, waiting for the questioning he knew was coming.


	2. Chapter 2

I take no claim for any of the Walking Dead themes or characters.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who are celebrating! I was able to write this pretty quickly with some free time from the holiday, so here you go! Thank you to all those who added this to story alert or even favorited. And a special thank you to those of you who reviewed. Reviews mean a lot to me :) Enjoy! And please let me know what you think!

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><p>Outside, Rick Grimes, unofficial leader of the group, paced the whitewashed floors of the porch. Rick's son, Carl, had apparently given up the sheriff's hat long enough so his father could wear it again. Daryl watched as Rick adjusted the hat on his head and let his head lower towards the ground. It was obvious the man was stressed. Dark circles had started to appear under his tired eyes, and the man hadn't shaved his beard in at least a week.<p>

Putting his head in his hands for a moment, Rick closed his eyes before speaking, "Daryl, I realize you were well intentioned, but I'm going to need you to seriously think about your actions before you carry them out."

Shaking his head and furrowing his eyebrows angrily, Daryl replied, "What tha' fuck you talkin' 'bout?"

Rick pointed up to the door of the Hershel farmhouse, "_That_, Daryl," he lowered his tone and pulled Daryl lightly by the shoulder over to a part of the porch away from anyone possibly overhearing them. "We're in a tight spot here. Hershel is _one _step away from kicking us off this property, and you may have just sped that up."

"Are ya' kidding me? I find a wounded lady in the woods and what, I'm supposta' leave her there?"

Rick shook his head, "No, Daryl. You're supposed to be a little more polite, is all."

Daryl rolled his eyes, "You want me to kiss that old fuck's ass, is all."

Putting his hands on his hips, Rick backed up and looked towards the camp where his wife Lori sat on the picnic table eating dinner next to their son. Sighing, he responded, "Yeah, actually."

Infuriated, Daryl took a step to leave, but Rick held him back by the shoulder again, "Look, Daryl. I get it, I really do. It is just _imperative_ that we stay on Hershel's good side. I don't really want to go back out there," he pointed back to the direction of the major cities and highways, "quite yet. I don't think any of us do. Please keep what I said to you quiet. If anyone else caught wind of what's going on right now everyone would panic, and I-," he paused and restarted, "_we_ can't deal with that right now."

With a stern look, Daryl replied, "Yeah, right." He turned away from Rick and shoved his hand off of his shoulder roughly, then stalked out of the porch and onto the yard.

Rick sighed and watched the twenty-to-thirty year old stomp into his tent after chucking the small game he had caught today at Andrea. Andrea flipped Daryl the bird and got back in on the conversation taking place around the fire.

Guilt started to rise into Rick's stomach. There was just so much going on at this point, he didn't know if he could take any more drama. Lori was pregnant. He had to say it twice in his head to fully understand it. If Hershel kicked them out, he and Lori would be on their own for when the baby came. What would happen to the baby? Would Lori even make it through?

Wiping a bit of sweat off his brow, Rick pushed the thoughts out of his mind. That time would come in many, many months. For now they just had to keep living. Daryl had done some good today, saving that girl. Rick wasn't sure of how many survivors were left on this planet, but if they encountered anyone he knew he would do his best to help them out. And for some reason Daryl seemed attached to the girl. He could feel and see it almost immediately. The way he held her was so delicate, but so protective. Rick felt like he was watching himself with Lori. Whatever it was about this girl, maybe it would bring another side out of Daryl. Hopefully a less confrontational, softer side. Rick laughed. On what planet would that ever happen? Shaking his head with a soft smile, Rick walked inside the Hershel farmhouse to check on their newest addition to the group.

Daryl was in his tent, infuriated and enraged. Once his temper was set off he had a hard time turning it down. He had always been that way. Brushing a hand through his short, dark blonde hair, he kicked the side of the tent. He couldn't get the vision of the girl's face out of his head. All he wanted to do was run into that damn house and see her. It was stupid to sulk in here, but he was too prideful to leave for the moment. Sitting down on his sleeping bag, Daryl put his head in his hands and growled in anger.

Lori observed the scene around her quietly. She, Carl, Carol, Andrea, Dale and Glenn sat around the fire, either seated at the picnic table or on big rocks or tree stumps they had placed around the flames. Andrea was telling some ridiculous story about her college years, to which everyone but Lori was paying attention to. Shane was off watching the perimeter of the camp, as he normally did. As soon as Daryl ran onto the property Lori spotted him and the girl on his shoulder. With her hand on Carl's back while they ate dinner, she watched Rick follow after Daryl while he ran up and barged into Hershel's house. After Rick talked to him on the porch, which she couldn't hear but assumed the gist of the conversation, she discreetly watched Daryl stomp into his tent and start kicking things around and yelling.

Whoever the girl was that he brought in and whatever Rick had said to him was bothering him, that much was obvious. Did Daryl know how to express any emotion other than anger? Lori wasn't sure if he was capable of anything else. She hadn't seen him so worked up in a while though. Maybe the last time he was this upset was the whole Merle incident. Lori knew what happened to his brother was horrible, but she couldn't find herself caring. Merle was just too much of a jerkoff. Despite all this, Lori decided to be a silent spectator for now. She would pop in when she was needed, but for now all she could do was wait. Lori kissed Carl on the head and rubbed his back tenderly, joining in on the laughter around her.

The girl in the Hershel farmhouse awoke with a jump. It was nighttime by now, she could tell by the oil lamp lit next to her. It was freezing. She knew how cold it could get at night around here from when she was in the fishing shack. With no blankets or extra clothing, she often held herself in a corner at night to try and keep herself warm. She pulled the blankets someone had placed over her up to her chin and turned to her side trying to bunch her small body up to conserve heat.

"Ma'am?"

She jumped, eyes wide, and turned towards the voice. Holding the blankets even tighter around her, she squinted to observe the man sitting in a chair next to her bed.

He was tall, she could tell even while he sat down. Based on his clothing she knew he was a policeman. His hair was brown and slightly curly even though it was cut short. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically she could tell.

"Hi there. My name is Rick Grimes. How are you feeling?"

Staring at him with her icy blue eyes, she quietly replied, "A bit cold."

Rick jumped up and walked over to one of the dressers. He bent down and pulled out one of the drawers, retrieving a crocheted blanket, then turned around and spread it over the small form of the girl on the bed.

"Better?" He asked.

She nodded slightly.

Rick sat back down. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Eve."

With a smile on his face, Rick replied, "That's a beautiful name."

Eve smiled softly back, "Thank you, sir." She paused for a moment, and then spoke quietly, "May I ask where the man who saved me is?"

Rick's eyebrows rose in surprise for a moment. "Daryl? Do you want to see him?"

She nodded.

Standing up, Rick pushed the chair away from him a bit. "I'll go get him for you. Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No thank you, sir."

Rick smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He certainly wasn't expecting a wake-up like this. What a polite young girl. They had encountered much less friendly survivors in the past, so this was a nice change of pace. Walking out of the room and softly closing the door behind him, Rick traveled outside onto the porch.

"She woke up, I assume."

Rick turned to see the doctor, Hershel Greene sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the porch of his home.

Putting his hat back on, Rick nodded with a slight smile. "That she did."

"Why the surprise, Rick?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Rick laughed quietly and looked up towards the sky for a moment, "Well, I was barely able to get her name out of her before she asks me to get Daryl. Imagine that."

The old doctor folded his hands in his lap. "Only natural, I suppose. The young man saved her, after all. Despite his extreme testiness and rudeness, she was able to see another side of him today. That's special, right there."

Nodding, Rick agreed, "I guess you're right. But _Daryl?_"

The two men laughed before they said their goodnights and parted ways. Hershel had told him an hour or so previously, after he had finished looking over the girl, a bit of what he could tell had happened to her. The only physical wounds she had were a few scrapes and her badly swollen ankle. It looked as though she had twisted it several days to a week beforehand and had never gotten it looked at. Not surprising in these times. Maybe she had tripped and twisted her ankle, scraping her knees in the process. The Greene girls had washed her body of any dirt as best they could. She looked brand new. The men wondered where Daryl had picked her up anyways, but figured it would all come out in time. Did Daryl even know her true whereabouts? Probably not, they reasoned.

With his hands in his pockets, Rick walked towards the camp. Everyone was gathered around the fire. Shane was due back soon, and Rick was next on the list to provide lookout. Rick walked up to Lori and put his hand on her back. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, he bent down and whispered into Lori's ear, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Lori turned around and nodded, then quietly slipped away from the group and walked a short distance with her husband, hand in hand. "What's up?"

"How're you feeling?" Rick asked his pregnant wife.

Lori sighed, "I'm okay."

"Good, that's good."

"Rick, I know you pulled me out here to ask me something else." She smiled lightly and raised an eyebrow.

Rick pursed his lips and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. Do you think you could do a favor for me?"

Skeptical, Lori responded, "What?"

"Could you tell Daryl the girl he saved today is looking for him inside Hershel's house?"

Lori laughed, "Seriously?"

Rick chuckled quietly as well, "Yeah."

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Lori nodded, "I guess so. I suppose_ I'm_ not the one he's mad at." Lori stared at Rick, then laughed again and shook her head, walking away from her husband and towards the now silent tent.

Lori wasn't sure how to get Daryl's attention. How does one knock on a tent? Better question: How does one knock on _Daryl's_ tent? Without making a big deal of it, Lori did her best to knock on the zipped-up tent flap and called out to him, "Daryl?"

She heard shuffling for a few moments until the flap was zipped down. Daryl stood there, stone faced, and did not say anything.

"Uh, yeah. Rick wanted me to tell you that the girl woke up and is asking for you."

As soon as the words left her mouth Daryl had darted out of the tent and ran across the front yard and into the house. Lori stood there wide eyed, watching his figure retreat inside, then searched for her husband by the fire and saw that he too was wide eyed and watching. Their eyes met and they chuckled quietly to one another as Lori rejoined the group.

Daryl bounded up the steps of the porch and flung the screen door to the farmhouse open. Once inside, he slowed down and calmly walked into the room where the girl laid. Eve sat up, with her back and head leaned up against the headboard, the blankets still clutched to her chest. She looked up when she heard Daryl walk in, boots thumping on the old hardwood floors.

From the doorway, they stared at each other for a short while, waiting for the other to make the first move. The girl's pale blue eyes softly watched him, her dark, thick eyelashes fanning over her cheeks each time she blinked.

"You alright now?" Daryl asked, stepping in and sitting down on the wooden chair next to the bed.

Eve nodded. "I just wanted to…" She trailed off for a moment and looked down. Pushing the blankets off the top of her body, she leaned over and embraced Daryl in a hug.

Daryl was taken aback, but eventually returned the hug, taking in the scent of her hair. When she moved to end the embrace, Daryl almost didn't let her go. She kissed his cheek softly and then leaned back onto the bed, readjusting the blankets and shivering a bit when the now cool sheets touched her skin. "Thank you."

He nodded curtly and stared at his rough, dirty hands.

It was silent again in the room.

"What's yer name?" Daryl asked the young girl.

"Eve."

Daryl noticed how much the name fit her. Beautiful, pure, innocent. But an underlying mystery shrouds her. This girl was definitely an Eve.

Cutting to the chase, Daryl asked, "Why were ya' in that shack?" He looked up to meet her eyes.

"Why were you in the woods?" Eve countered quietly.

Annoyed that she deflected his question, Daryl raised an eyebrow, "Why you changin' the subject?"

"Why are you changing my subject?" Her completely innocent face looked back on him. He could tell she was uncomfortable though. She was obviously avoiding the question for a reason.

Leaning back in the chair and propping one ankle over the other knee horizontally, like most men sat, Daryl cross his arms and looked over to the childlike girl, "Alright, I get it. Yer' goin' to hafta' tell me eventually though, you know that right?"

Eve bit her lip, but looked down and nodded.

"Okay, now that we got that settled, let's say we get a look at that ankle of yers, doll." Daryl stared at her and waited for a sign of acceptance and once it was granted, he leaned forward out of the chair, both feet now on the floor.

Eve was lying straight on the bed on her back. Daryl slowly moved his hands forward towards the end of the bed and then softly folded the blankets up and out of the way. It was obvious which ankle held the affliction, as the left was bandaged and the right was sitting there in all its pale, thin glory. Even her feet were delicate. Daryl felt the urge to protect her rise up from his stomach again. It was an almost uncontrollable feeling. He didn't want to control it though. He wanted to act on it; to keep her away from harm, to keep her as beautiful and delicate as she was right now.

Daryl looked up at her before he touched her ankle. She was biting her lip again, looking a little nervous. Reaching one, rough and calloused hand out, he started first with the right foot, softly trailing his fingers down from the top of her foot to the tip of her toe. She shivered. Daryl moved to the other foot and Eve immediately flinched.

"That hurt?" Daryl asked the girl.

With closed eyes, she nodded.

"That doctor say anythin' to you?"

She shook her head no.

"Rick say anythin' to you?"

Eve shook her head again, "Not really." At this point she yawned and rubbed her hands on her closed eyes.

"You tired?" Daryl asked.

"A bit."

"Go on to sleep then."

"I don't want to."

Confused, Daryl spoke, "And why is that?"

Eve wrung her hands in her lap, and then wiped them on the sheets like she was nervous. Her ice blue eyes looked down and a light blush came across her cheeks. Almost too quiet to hear, she spoke, "Cause… I don't want you to leave."

Daryl was startled. He wasn't expecting that one. He couldn't deny he liked it though. "You go on to sleep. I'll be right here, Evie."

Hearing that made her heart swell. It had been so long since she felt this way, and she loved it. Feeling safe for the first time in months, Eve smiled and laid down on the bed, snuggling into the covers and bunching up her legs to her chest to stay warm. Daryl watched her through the night.


	3. Chapter 3

I take no claim for any of the Walking Dead themes or characters.

Chapter Three, here we go! I've decided to put little updates on my profile when I can, just letting you know where I am with the next chapter. If you're ever curious to see how much longer it will probably be, go ahead an check to see if I put an update up, or just send over a message and I'll get back to it as soon as I can. Again, thank you to all those who added this to story alert, favorited and especially reviewed. Reviews mean a lot to me :) Please let me know what you think! Do all the characters act like they should? Opinions? Enjoy!

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><p>In the hours of the early morning, Dr. Hershel Greene walked into the bedroom the group had recently been using for the abundance of patients who had needed medical attention from him as of late. At the moment the room held the mysterious young girl who had been the talk of the camp yesterday, as well as the young man who had been watching over her all night long. Hershel saw that Daryl Dixon had been sitting there for the duration of the evening in the chair next to the bed of the slumbering girl. Wanting to speak with him, he stood in the doorway and waved him over silently.<p>

Daryl looked up at the doctor when he spotted him at the door, then glanced down at Eve for a moment before softly exiting the room and closing the door behind them. Hershel led Daryl into the kitchen.

"Well, young man, I figured I should give you a rundown of what I found last night. It seems that you have taken the job of caring for her, so I thought the information would be best in your hands." Hershel Greene sternly watched the emotionless face of Daryl Dixon. His white, bushy eyebrows were raised in expression, seeking some kind of recognition from the boy.

"Yeah," Daryl replied simply.

Folding his arms across his chest, Hershel leaned against one of the wallpapered walls of the kitchen. "Well, it looked as though her ankle was severely injured, as I am sure you already knew. I was thinking she may have tripped while running through the woods, maybe, and scrapped her knees and legs up in the process. It looks as though it happened several days to a week ago."

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I knew all that already."

Shaking his head at the naïve man, Hershel continued, "Right. Then you also already know that she's going blind."

Daryl's jaw dropped. A look of confusion crossed over his face, "What tha' fuck you talkin' about, Greene?"

"I've seen something similar in horses before. Not the same of course, but similar. While she was unconscious I checked her eyes for a concussion, but found something different. The name of it is retinitis pigmentosa. Most patients go fully blind by age fifty. Based on her actions so far I would assume she is nowhere close to that point, but it will definitely show more with time."

Daryl shook his head, "Yer lyin', Doc. She sees me just fine!"

Hershel sighed, "This isn't any sort of personal attack. I'm just trying to tell you the facts so you can make up your own mind. I don't know much about it, but some of it is obvious. Have you ever noticed the color of her eyes, Daryl? Unusual, right? Beautiful, even. It is a terrible affliction. Tragic. Extremely hard to deal with once it starts, especially at night or in the dark. Maybe terrible enough to get her lost in the woods? Terrible enough for someone to leave her behind?"

Daryl's blood started to race. He felt the anger starting to rise. Not even knowing the full story about what had happened to the girl, just the notion of someone leaving her behind and boarding her into a shack with a few cans of food for survival made him go crazy. His fists clenched by his sides and he briskly stomped away from the doctor, back into the room where Eve slept.

Eve was awoken by the heavy footsteps on the ground, and even more so by the sudden weight on her bed. Opening her ice blue eyes, Eve gasped when she suddenly spotted Daryl sitting on the bed right next to her, his face inches away from hers. His own cerulean blue eyes gazed into hers. Her heart started to race.

A thought jumped through her mind. He was _examining_ her. Like a bug under a microscope. He knew.

Eve jumped away from him and fell off the opposite side of the bed, blankets billowing with her since they were tangled around her feet. The yank on her ankle from the bed sheets made her gasp in pain loudly. She closed her eyes tightly and scooted back into the corner of the room on her butt, dragging the blankets with her. In another second's time she wrapped her small body in the sheet and then clumsily jumped over the bed and out the door.

Daryl was speechless at her sudden escape. He jumped off the bed and followed suit out the door. By the time he was in the hall, he saw her limping figure run out the screen door and onto the porch into the light of the dawn.

"Eve!" Daryl yelled after her, quickening his pace so that he too was outside following her closely.

She let go of the stark white sheet so it flowed behind her like angel wings. It caught on Daryl's front and he grabbed a section of it and shoved it behind him. All eyes of the camp were on them. It took second for Daryl to reach out and grab Eve around the middle, picking her up off the ground so she couldn't hurt her ankle any more than she just did.

"Where tha' hell you think yer goin'!" Daryl yelled at her.

She struggled, trying to get away.

"Stop actin' like a damn fool! What is wrong with you, woman?"

Eve froze in his arms and laid limply against his chest, her feet dangling right above the grass. "I'm leaving before you abandon me too." Her quiet voice broke the silence.

The sentence hung on the air like a choking fog. They both let it sink in for a moment.

For the first time, even when he barely knew this girl, he felt like he could barely breathe. Daryl felt his heart ache.

She continued, "I wouldn't blame you, you know, if you left me behind. My own step father did it. Why shouldn't a complete stranger leave me behind? In times like these I am a burden. I lost my glasses a while back and I can barely see ten feet in front of me. Who am I kidding? Who wears glasses in a zombie apocalypse anyways? I am useless."

At the end of her rant, Daryl could feel her sniffling in his muscled arms. He knelt on the grassy ground, one knee underneath him and one propped up. Sitting the girl on his knee, he looked her in the eyes, "I wasn't goin' to abandon you, Eve."

Surprised and skeptical, Eve countered, "Then why were you staring at me like I was a freak?"

He sighed, "I just wanted to see it for myself. You don't act blind at all."

Angrily, Eve spat, "I'm not blind, Daryl. I can see you just fine. It's degenerative. All that's wrong with me is that without my glasses, I have to squint quite a bit to get a clear picture of what I'm looking at."

"Then why would someone board you up by the river? Why'd they leave you behind?"

Looking down at her hands, Eve sniffled as the tears started to build up. She was quiet for a bit before she answered, "Cause I got my momma killed."

"Is everything alright here?"

The sudden intrusion made the pair look up. Shane Walsh stood with his rifle by his side, pointed towards the ground. He stared down at the two curiously, but also eyed Daryl Dixon with distrust.

"Fuck off, Walsh," Daryl glared right back. Something had been _wrong_ with Shane for the last few weeks. Daryl couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had been watching him carefully for a while now just in case. He was acting strangely, suspiciously almost. Whatever his deal was, Daryl just wanted Shane to get fucking bit so he could shoot him in the head already.

Eve froze in place as soon as she heard the foreign voice. She watched Daryl look up over her shoulder at the man and listened to them argue.

"Woah there, Dixon. That isn't any way to speak in front of a lady, isn't that right?" Shane Walsh stepped around in order to face Eve, then bent down and offered her a hand, "Office Shane Walsh. Might I ask what your name is?"

Looking down at his hand for a moment, Eve eventually took it after wiping the back of her hand over a stray tear that had started making its way down her rosy cheek, "Dr. Eve Bishop. Hospital Pharmacist." She looked up at the man with the buzz cut and scar on his scalp. He wore a tight black tee shirt and tan cargo pants, with ammo probably in all the pockets.

As soon as Eve introduced herself, Shane's eyebrows rose in surprise, a sneaky smile on his lips, "Well, well, well. Isn't that something?" He let go of her hand and turned to Daryl, "Why're you keeping this girl all by herself here? You should let her meet the rest of the group if she's going to be staying with us." He gave a friendly smile, but Daryl knew it was fake. Shane was up to something, he could tell. Daryl almost snarled. Shane saw it and gave him a look, but continued to smile for Eve's sake.

"Shouldn't you be like, playin' GI Joe and roamin' around the camp lookin' for geeks? I thought I heard Lori was lookin' for ya'. Oh wait, no she wasn't. I lied." Daryl gave a one sided grin.

Shane's smile immediately dissipated into a cold glare. Daryl laughed and stood up, picking up Eve simultaneously. He gathered the girl up so his left arm was under her knees and his right was behind her back.

As Daryl started walking towards the camp, Eve turned back to Shane, "It was nice meeting you, officer."

Hearing the girl's polite words, Shane's intimidating glare softened and he nodded at her in return. He then lifted up his rifle and stalked away towards the edges of the property, resuming his watch for any stray walkers.

While slowly wandering across the grassy front lawn towards the side where his group had taken up camp, Daryl and Eve travelled in silence, both of them thinking about what Eve had just admitted to a few moments before. It continued for a few moments before Daryl spoke up, ignoring the bigger issue at hand for now, "So yer' a pharmacist?"

Eve nodded, "Yeah. It took a lot of schooling, but I was able to get through it quicker than most people. It's a quiet job mostly, which is why I chose it. I'd rather work inside where I'm safe than anywhere else I think."

Nodding curtly, Daryl responded, "I respect that. Outside work is men's work. If I had to be stuck in some lab for too long I'd prolly' want to axe everythin' apart. Oh, wait." Daryl snorted at some past memory which was unknown to Eve, but she smiled anyways.

Almost there, the two observed what was going on around them. The sun was now fully up and it was time for morning chores among the camp. Carol sat by the fire and was stirring something in a pot lifted over the flames. A couple of the Greene girls were out in the fields taking care of the farm work; feeding the chickens, pulling weeds, things of the like. Andrea sat at the picnic table cleaning her beloved gun, her light blonde hair sparkling in the sun, with the Grimes boy, Carl, raptly observing from her left. Rick was talking to T-Dog and Glenn off to the side in hushed voices and big gestures. Daryl could tell something was going on.

Daryl set Eve on one of the seats at the picnic table, "You sit here. I'll be back." He then quickly grabbed the crossbow off his back and hurried over to Rick and the other men.

Eve immediately was instilled with a feeling of loneliness. She was surrounded by people, but they were people she didn't know. It confused her because she barely knew Daryl but she already felt comfortable around him, like they knew each other for so long or something. She guessed that's what happens when someone saves you. They just kind of meshed all the sudden. Daryl was her polar opposite in many ways, she automatically knew that. And it thrilled her.

"Hi there. My name's Andrea. I heard you came in last night." The woman with the glistening blonde hair in front of her introduced herself, the silver gun she held was placed on the table by itself for the moment.

"You have beautiful hair," Eve commented.

Taken aback, Andrea placed a hand over her chest and smiled, "Well aren't you lovely?"

"Eve Bishop. Pleasured to make your acquaintance, ma'am."

Andrea's light eyebrows rose, "'Ma'am'? Aw man, all this bullshit must really be getting to me if I already look like a 'ma'am.'"

A light laugh sounded from Andrea's left.

"You think that's funny, Carl?" Andrea teased the young boy. She turned to Eve and introduced him, "This is Carl, Rick and Lori's son. He's a strong one, alright. Just back on his feet after being injured pretty badly." Andrea ruffled his hair, "Isn't that right, Carl?"

The boy laughed embarrassedly and shoved Andrea's hand off his head, then carefully smoothed out his hair and playfully glared at her.

Eve turned back to see what the men were doing. Rick, Daryl and a few others she hadn't been introduced to yet were all gathered around the hood of a car, examining a map. Rick was pointing to different places on the sheet of paper while the others deliberated. Daryl stood and observed quietly, then pointed to an area on the map and said something she couldn't hear. The men simultaneously looked up and glanced at Eve, to which she promptly turned away and ignored the stares.

"Ooh darling! What happened there?" A new voice popped into the conversation, coming from a slight, older woman with short, grey, choppy hair. In her hands she held a pot of some steaming food. She was worriedly looking down at the bandaged ankle that Eve possessed.

Eve then noticed that some mismatched plates had been placed around the picnic table. The woman started serving the food. Eve decided it was some kind of stew. Her stomach started rumbling loudly when the steam rose up from her plate and entered her petite nose. Whatever it was, it smelled good. Or, it smelled like food, and Eve was starving. There's a point when a person is so hungry that they almost forget how hungry they are, and Eve decided she had hit that point sometime after her last can of food in the shack.

Brushing off the memories, Eve returned to the conversation, "Oh, just sprained my ankle. Nothing too bad."

Finishing off serving the pot, the woman sat down in front of her own dish. Carl had already started eating his.

"Breakfast's ready, numbskulls!" Andrea yelled over to the men on the side of the camp, and then laughed quietly amongst the women.

"Well if you need anything, dear, just give me a holler. My name is Carol."

The boys all came up and sat down either around the table or around the fire, jumping into their food.

"Thank you, Carol. That's very kind of you." Eve gave a polite smile before she jumped when a hand rested on her shoulder.

Carol exchanged glances with Andrea. Andrea laughed, "I know. Isn't she so polite? She called me ma'am before. Imagine that? Manners." Andrea rolled her eyes towards the men shoveling food in their faces, making various slurping noises and burping here and there.

Eve's attention went back to the hand on her shoulder. She looked up to her right and saw Daryl standing next to her. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "Eat all that up, doll. Ya' need it to get better."

Agreeing, Eve picked up a fork and started slowly eating the food in front of her.

"We should thank Daryl for catching those rabbits. We'd be stuck eating potato chips and stale beef jerky if it wasn't for him," Carol smiled. A few of the people around the group nodded.

Carol was pretty much the only one that gave Daryl any appreciation. Probably because he was the main one looking for her little girl. Daryl and the rest of the men were looking for new places to search for Sophia on that map. Yesterday when Rick went out looking, apparently he had found a few clues just down the river from where Daryl had searched yesterday. The group had divided up into pairs, besides Daryl who preferred to look alone, and chose new places to search today. Shane was going to stay behind with Dale and guard the camp and farmhouse.

When Rick finished his plate he walked over to Eve, nodding at Daryl before kneeling down beside her. "How are you doing today, Eve?"

Eve finished chewing the bite she had in her mouth before replying, "Very well, thank you."

Rick smiled gently and turned to the rest of the group, "If you haven't noticed already, we've got a new addition here. This is Eve. Daryl brought her in yesterday." Rick pointed to a slim brunette in a flowy tank top with a perpetually worried look, "This is my wife Lori. And if you haven't already met him, this is our son, Carl." He pointed to the young boy across the table that she had already been introduced to, who swiftly waved. Eve nodded to both before Rick continued, "Over there, that's T-Dog, that crazy kid over there is Glenn, the man who won't leave a ten foot radius of the camper is Dale, and Shane is in the woods on lookout. I'm sure you'll be able to meet him later."

Daryl snorted. Rick cast him a look, but then continued while looking over the people around them, "Please be sure to make her feel welcomed. Okay, we're all going to set out to look for Sophia in a few minutes. We've got a few leads to follow out and see where they take us." Rick turned to Carl, "Be good for your mother, Carl. If I hear anything bad you'll be cleaning the dishes for everybody tonight."

Carl rolled his eyes, "_Yes dad."_

Lori laughed from a few feet away.

Eve noticed how meek Carol started to look once Rick started talking about their plans for today. She wondered what was going on.

The group started to break up once they finished their food. Daryl squatted back down by Eve and whispered in her ear quiet enough so no one could hear, "Sophia is Carol's girl. We lost her about a week back. I was out lookin' for her when I came across you."

"Oh."

"I'll be back later tonight. You need anythin', go to Lori. Hear me?" Daryl looked up at her expectantly, staring into her pale blue eyes.

Eve nodded.

Without another word, Daryl stood up, took out his crossbow, and walked to the edges of the camp to start his searching for the day.


	4. Chapter 4

I take no claims for Walking Dead characters or themes.

Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter. I had started it on Saturday, but after Sunday's episode I knew I had to start over. This chapter follows the last episode to a minor extent, but I had to follow the plot a little or else nothing would make sense. So sorry if this one is a little boring. I tried to add in Eve and have some more tension/lust between her and Daryl towards the end when the shit hit the fan hahaha. It'll be better next time I hope! Thanks for the reviews! They mean a lot to me! Let me know what you think please :)

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><p>Eve Bishop sat at the picnic table with her arms around her thin waist, almost giving herself a hug for comfort. With Daryl gone for a short while Eve felt alone here even though she was surrounded by people. They were people she didn't know at the end of the day, and she didn't know what to do with herself. She watched Daryl's strong back as he walked away from the camp slowly, crossbow in hand as usual.<p>

Right before everyone split up, Glenn stood up and made an announcement. It took him a few moments to gather the courage, but eventually he was able to make his voice heard, "Hey everybody…" His hands were awkwardly clasped by his sides. "There are walkers in the barn."

A simultaneous gasp sounded from the entire camp. Daryl's body froze from across the field and he turned around slowly with a look of shock. Eve's pale blue eyes went wide and she immediately held herself tighter, looking off into the direction of the barn, squinting at its distant form. Her first thought was that it hardly looked secure, but looks had deceived her in the past.

While she was boarded into the fishing shed by the stream she could hear walkers from time to time, but she was never able to see them. They would scramble by the shack, moaning and growling. There had been one occasion when a walker had gotten close enough to the shack that it heard her barely move inside. Immediately Eve noticed the change in its gait; it became quicker and more sporadic as it ambled to get closer to the shed. Once there, its mangled hands scratched at the sides for hours, trying to break through the rotting wood in order to climb inside and devour her. Eve sat in the opposite corner, holding herself and silently crying, her frail body shaking from the panic bubbling inside her. She knew the walls were frail and that they wouldn't hold for long. Despite her belief, they did hold long enough for the walker to get distracted by some distant sound and wander off.

Eve always could hear them better than she could see them. Their movements were so distinct; she thought it was hard to miss them. Other people didn't agree, and they believed she had a gift. Perhaps since her vision was failing it gave the rest of her senses the room to improve. She recalled when Daryl had first found her yesterday and how she had heard the walker before him. At that point she was so desperate to get away from the creature that she ended up back in the same corner, holding herself in fright.

She felt the same fright when she gazed over at the aged wooden barn, standing in all its frail glory off in the distance of the wheat field.

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts most of the people around her had dispersed. She could tell the camp was tense. Rick had gone off to talk to Hershel before he and the boys were going out to look for Sophia. Glenn and Dale were hanging out by the camper talking quietly amongst themselves. Andrea had finished polishing her gun and had stuffed it into the waist of her tight blue jeans. She was currently making her way across the wispy wheat fields to take watch of the barn. Eve had no clue where Daryl and Carol had gone. The only people left were Lori and Carl.

Lori, the strong and brave woman that she was, was holding her quietly crying son in her arms. Carl was worried and upset. The medical stress from the gunshot, the entire situation, the tenseness between his parent, and the loss of his only young friend at the moment obviously was taking its toll, and now with the added danger of walkers being so close to the place they were calling home for the moment, Carl was now having a bit of a breakdown. His mother whispered into his ear softly while she rubbed his back in comfort.

The two women watched as Shane angrily stomped across camp and into the trailer. Sounds of crashing and movement came from inside. They brushed it off as Shane being Shane then ignored his odd behavior and looked to each other.

Lori broke the ice, "So Eve. How are you today?" It was obvious she was trying to break the tension they all felt. Lori figured that maybe if she started a small conversation with Eve it would distract Carl enough for him to calm down.

Eve nodded softly, "I'm doing alright, I think. Thank you for asking."

Lori nodded back, a little more precisely. "Good. That's great to hear. And your ankle?"

Eve looked down at her injured foot. It was throbbing from when she had been running on it previously. She noticed how everyone ignored that incident from earlier and was thankful for it. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm anyone else about her condition. They may be less forgiving than Daryl was.

Despite the pain than was coming off, she spoke to the contrary, "It's doing okay…" Eve reached up and ran her fingers down the long length of her auburn hair. It twirled around her finger on the ends before she pulled softly and straightened out the curls. When she let go the curls bounced back to life and peacefully fell back to place near the small of her back.

Carl started calming down. His face was no longer scrunched in sobbing fear. He sat on his mother's lap and quietly sniffled, peaking up at the girl across the table from him and his mother.

"How'd you manage to grow your hair out that long? Mine is getting long enough, I'll have to ask Rick for a trim. I cut Carl's hair about a week ago and it's already growing back!" She laughed slightly and ran her fingers over his head.

Eve smiled at the boy who grimaced when his mother mentioned cutting his hair. "I remember getting haircuts from my mother. They were so bad I started avoiding them altogether," Eve laughed at the memory. Carl laughed as well and made a face while discreetly pointing up to Lori. Eve chuckled and continued, "So eventually it just grew out this long. I cut the ends sometimes, but not too often. I had a hair appointment…but…" Eve trailed off awkwardly once she realized what she was saying. That life was dead now, and constantly reminding themselves of the loss they had endured was too painful to deal with. Everyone figured it was best to leave that life behind and continue forward with hope.

Lori bit her lip and Carl stopped laughing. Quickly trying to stay on the good track, Lori asked, "So what do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I was a hospital pharmacist. Not too special, but it was quiet, just like I like it."

Lori's eyes glazed over for a moment while she thought back to the awful mistake she had almost made involving her newfound pregnancy. Eve could have helped her figure out what kinds of prescriptions would have worked. Or if any prescriptions would have worked. Did Lori even want anything to work? The argument with Rick was bouncing around in her head.

Eve noticed she was out of it, but quietly waited for her to reflect and come back to reality. She was not a pushy person, nor was she loud or intrusive. Eve liked to keep to herself mostly. She was quiet in conversation, reserved sometimes. Said just enough to get her through. She was raised to be polite; to say thank you, to stay in her place. It's just who she was.

Lori blinked and discreetly shook her head. "That's a pretty important job. Could be useful for us out here."

Eve looked at her with subdued wonder, trying to figure out how her profession could possibly help them survive in the wilderness or kill zombies. She was doubtful.

"Dales been collecting pills from abandoned cars, and Daryl's got a bag full of random prescriptions from his hopped up brother. None of us really know how to use them properly though. Unfortunately prescription bottles don't say what the medication treats, so we've been winging it so far. We could use your help." Lori smiled encouragingly.

"Oh, I think I could help with that." Eve was confident in her abilities, but she didn't want to brag. Especially if there was something they had that she wasn't familiar with. If she bragged but then couldn't help she would feel mortified.

In reality she was practically a human encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals. She organized the shelves at the hospital daily and cherished the moments when new deliveries came in so she could label bottles and place them in their appropriate places. With her sleek glasses perched on her tiny nose she held the bottles close to her face in order to read the fine print properly, tracing the ingredients list with her finger while she read. There was never a medication that came in that she was unfamiliar with.

Lori smiled, "That would be really great. Thanks."

"You're welcome ma'am."

Lori raised an eyebrow at the title she was given, but nodded softly.

Eve smiled in return and wrung her hand in her lap. She turned so that her back was to the end of the bench of the picnic table. Lifting her legs up so that they were resting on the bench, she winced when her ankle hit the coarse wood. Eve gently fingered the cloth bandages around her foot. It was definitely still swollen, but not even close to how bad it was a few days ago. The few scrapes on her shins and arms had been patched up with bandaids to prevent any infection. While she was out cold they had looked over her well, she couldn't deny that.

During the time that she was looking down at her ankle Shane and Rick had reentered the camp, both with very different packages in their arms. Shane held the large black bag of guns Rick had recovered from the police department they had worked at previously. Rick held a walker at arm's length, its mutilated neck entwined with a rope attached to a stick, similar to the ones dog catchers used. The walker was grey and rotting, yelling with its arms trying to grab at anything it could grasp. It was followed by a female walker who was held by one of the Greene boys, Hershel following closely behind. As soon as Shane spotted Rick's form in the distance, he went berserk. And that's when everyone started paying attention.

Darting towards him with a murderous look in his eyes, Shane ran across the fields bellowing at them with rage. Eve jumped up from the bench and stood there in awe. Andrea, T-Dog and Glenn followed closely behind him while they made their way over to the barn filled with walkers. Out from the stables came Daryl and Carol, also running towards the scene.

Lori grabbed Carl and looked up to Eve, "Can you make it on your own?"

Eve nodded and followed Lori as quickly as she could on her injured foot. By the time they got there Shane was shooting the female walker while loudly making a point, "Heart!" Another shot went off. "Lungs!" Another shot. "She just don't quit!"

Hershel sat on the ground, his eyes in blank horror, watching the person he knew getting repeatedly shot but not being affected at all. It continued to scream and growl at the crowd of people, doing anything in its power to attack the people around it.

Daryl turned around, his eyes searching for Eve. Quickly patting Carol on the back, he ambled over to the girl with the glorious auburn hair and hauntingly blue eyes. Daryl quietly spoke a few words to her, "You alright?"

"Take it! HERSHEL! _Take the stick!_" Rick screamed at the old doctor, trying to get him to take control of the walker in his hands. His pleads made Eve's stomach ill. She focused on the scene unraveling in front of her, not even noticing that her body had started to shake and tears had started to drip from her clear eyes.

Daryl snapped his fingers in front of her face to gain her attention again, "Hey! Look at me, Eve," he pointed up to his face and took her by the shoulders to turn her back to the stress and drama of Rick's desperate pleas. Daryl spoke again, "I need you to focus, doll. Ya' hear me?"

She nodded silently.

"Okay, good. Now, are ya' okay?" Daryl asked like he was talking to an upset little girl, which is exactly what she was at that moment.

Eve had a few tears in her eyes from the pressure on her ankle. It was throbbing more than her heart was beating. She shakily moved her head to indicate that, no, she was not okay.

Daryl knelt next to her and took her hand, "Okay, I'll get you off that foot soon. I need you to stay back here, ya' hear? Shane's goin' fuckin' crazy, but we need to kill those walkers. They're dangerous. I don't want anybody gettin' hurt." He finished this statement by looking straight into her eyes, like she was the one he was really concerned about. It gave Eve a sense of comfort and she replayed his words over and over in her mind in order to fully feel the emotion that it brought her.

Seconds later Shane finished the female walker off with a single gunshot into its brain. The piercing sound reverberated around the farm for miles. Eve jumped when she heard it and sobbed.

"Eve?" Daryl grabbed her face and made her look at him directly.

She looked at him with worried eyes, "Yeah."

Shane quickly passed out guns to all those who were willing and moved to the barn door. He started ripping it open, crunching through the wooden doors and locks while ranting and raving. It was frightening to watch.

Daryl looked into her eyes and waited for a sign of recognition. She nodded and he continued, "Stay behind my back. Don't move for nothin'." Daryl stood in front of the frail girl and aimed his gun just in time for the barn doors to be completely chopped open. Before the gunshots started, Daryl turned his head slightly so that she would hear him speak, "I've got you, Evie. Yer' safe." And with that he faced forward and started shooting the walkers running out from the barn, hungry after weeks of being stuck inside the structure with minimal food.

Eve hid her head into his broad and muscled back and lightly placed her shaking hands on his waist. She tried to balance on one foot so they other wouldn't become any more injured than it already was. The pressure was alleviated but the pain throbbed on. With everything else going on though it was not a major concern in her mind at the moment.

The sounds coming from in front of Daryl were terrifying. Gunshot after gun shot. The sound of skulls being crunched and shattered. The final cries of the monsters before their flaccid bodies hit the ground with a limp smack. Eve shut her eyes and squeezed onto Daryl Dixon's waist, feeling each recoil from the bullets he shot into the heads of the moaning horde of dead family members and neighbors. It felt like it went on for an eternity. The firing squad, comprised of Andrea, Shane, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn, shot down each zombie with precision, their decaying bodies piling on the ground like a mountain of dead flesh.

Eventually the bullets stopped.

A sickening silence fell among the field.

And everyone stood there in horrified awe.

In a few moments a sound disturbed the silence. A soft and ragged breathing came forth from the barn. Carol's pained screech cried out as she fell to the ground in angst.

Popping her head over Daryl's shoulder, Eve peaked out to see what had happened. Carol sat sobbing on the ground, her arms extended towards the barn. A slight little girl sloppily walked forward from the chopped doors, her flesh a cold grey. It was a walker now. The realization of who this was made Eve's stomach drop.

They had found Sophia. Just not in the manner they had hoped.

The group looked at each other, silently deciding what to do. Rick Grimes, unofficial camp leader, walked forward with his head facing the ground in emotional pain. He looked up at the dead girl, running his hand over his jaw and chin, then lifted his gun, aimed, and shot. The girl fell into the pile of bleeding walkers, cold and dead and found.


	5. Chapter 5

I take no credit for any Walking Dead themes or characters.

Weee another chapter done! Lots goes on in this one! Let me know what you think please :) Pretty please? Enjoy!

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><p>The group of survivors were quiet for some time while staring off into the pile of newly massacred walkers, one of which who was particularly important to them. Hershel Greene sat on the dirty ground in front of the barn, one of his daughters standing behind him vaguely holding his shoulder. His mouth was slightly ajar while the visions of what just occurred spurred through his mind repeatedly. The people who he had kept safe for months were now laying on the ground and bleeding out. Were the people? He was unsure, but all he knew was that almost everyone he loved was dead. He was enraged.<p>

Andrea, T-Dog, Shane and Glenn stood at the front lines of the fight that had just ended, their hands gripping their weapons even thought it was clearly over. No one was sure what to do, so they stood there silently.

Thinking of the poor girl, Andrea's blonde eyebrows lifted up in angst and her bottom lip quivered. Facing her head to the ground, she closed her eyes and dropped her silver handgun to the ground after brainlessly pulling the safety on to have a moment to reflect on what exactly had just happened. She was an extremely strong woman but she had looked after Sophia many a time throughout this whole incident. When she, her now dead sister Amy, and Dale had first started the camp outside of Atlanta, Carol, Sophia and their deadbeat dad/husband had been among the first to arrive. Sophia and Andrea had spent much time together when she was babysitting her, and it was affecting her deeply. Sophia was one of the last reminders she had of Amy, and now she was gone too. Andrea fell silent among her thoughts.

Eve was still standing on one foot, trying to keep the weight off her sprained ankle. The longer she did this the more aware she became of how her injured ankle was falling asleep midair. In order to keep balance, and also for some kind of comfort, her thin fingers lightly held onto Daryl Dixon's waist. Daryl's gun was still held out in front of him. Eve wasn't sure if he had it out in case one of the walkers came back up or if he was too shocked and had just forgotten to move it. In either case, Eve felt protected, but not safe just quite yet.

Across the field, Carol was sobbing in the dirty grass, her hands clenching among the plants and pulling them out in chunks. Her crying was almost hysterical a few moments ago, but it was quieting down with the passage of time. The body that had been her daughter was leaking muddy blood out of its petite skull while lifelessly laying on top of another walker's body. Carol stared at the body of Sophia in anguish, and mourned the death of her beloved daughter. She was distraught.

The old doctor's voice cut the silence. It was pained, but stern, "You have five minutes to get off my property."

Rick immediately looked over to Hershel. "No, no, no. Please, Hershel. This wasn't supposed to happen!" He held his hands together in front of his chest as if praying. In his mind he cursed his supposed best friend. Shane was off the deep end and had just made it worse for all of them than it had to have been. There was no way to dig themselves out of this mess now other than begging. And Rick was prepared to beg in order to assure the safety of his wife and son.

Hershel Greene sighed and shakily stood up while wiping a tear from his cheek. He didn't break eye contact from the pile of his dead family and friends for one second. "I want you off my property. Now! All of you!"

"You can't do that! Lori is pregnant! We have nowhere to go! You can't throw us out!" Rick pled with the man.

The whole group looked up when Rick announced that Lori was pregnant. Andrea's eyes went wide. Shane ran a hand over his freshly buzzed hair, having already heard the news. He picked the gun up from his side and briskly walked over to Hershel. An irritated sigh escaped his lips, and he quickly pointed the gun at Hershel's head. Shane spoke to him in a low, threatening tone, jamming the barrel into his forehead, "Now you listen here. We're not leaving, now are we?"

Hershel looked up at the barrel of the gun now lodged in the skin of his forehead. His eyes shifted nervously to his daughter. In a moment of desperation, Maggie Greene jumped over to Andrea and quickly leaned down and grabbed the gun Andrea had dropped. The woman pointed the gun at Shane. "Don't you dare, you piece of garbage."

Away from the argument, Daryl shifted so that his arms went around his back. He grabbed Eve's waist and pulled her snug to his body, acting as a human shield. They quietly observed from afar.

"Maggie, put the gun down," Glenn's gentle voice cut through the conversation.

Maggie looked over to Glenn, "Going against my Daddy's word is one thing, but threatening his life is altogether different. I won't let this man kill my father."

"Shane, put down the gun. You've done enough damage already!" Rick scolded his out of control friend.

Shane glared at Hershel with death in his eyes. He clenched the gun so hard that it started to shake in his hands. Hershel stood with his eyes closed, waiting for someone to make the next move.

"Are you out of your mind, Shane!" Rick yelled again.

Eve was watching the argument in front of them with caution. Even though they were standing only twenty feet from the men, she had to squint slightly to make out what was happening. Her grip on Daryl grew tighter, and he returned the motion by pulling her delicate body in closer to him. Daryl's eyes didn't stray from the scene for one moment. He was ready to act if any kind of danger arose.

Carol's cries had turned into sloppy sniffles as she watched the quarrel in horror. T-Dog held his gun up and pointed it at Maggie, unsure of what to do. Maggie Greene held her ground, but occasionally glanced over to Glenn.

"No, I 'aint out of my mind! It's this fuck who's out of his god damned mind! He's going to throw us back out there! Lori is fucking pregnant! Hell if we're stepping foot out in that shit hole!" Shane pushed the gun further into Hershel's forehead. He started to sweat. Shane was feeling a swarm of emotions; confused, infuriated, protective of Lori, desperate and willing to do anything to keep them safe. He wasn't about to give up without a fight.

Rick walked up next to Shane and forcefully pulled the gun away from Hershel's head. "My wife is none of your concern, Shane!"

Enraged, Shane pointed the gun towards Rick, "Hell if she's none of my concern! You're a fucking idiot if you believe that."

Eve's ears perked up. Something was amiss.

Turning her head back towards the edges of the property, Eve closed her eyes and concentrated. In the distance, something was approaching. Quick, but sloppy footsteps were heading towards them. She could hear it. She could hear their far-away groans and hisses. Twigs were snapping underneath their feet and echoing in the emptiness of the forest. Walkers were on their way to the farmhouse. Lots of them.

Eve turned back to Daryl quickly and hurriedly whispered in his right ear, "Do you hear them?"

Daryl turned back to her with a confused look. Gesturing towards the men arguing, he replied, "Yeah..?"

"No. _Them_." Eve pointed towards the pile of dead walkers Shane and the others had just massacred, and then circled her finger around the camp, indicating what she could hear. Her pale blue eyes were brimming with worry.

Daryl was quiet for a moment, but then opened his eyes wide when he understood, "Fuck me." Turning around and picking up Eve, he hoisted her over his shoulder much like the time when he had first found her. Loudly, he spoke over to the screaming men, "We've gotta' get the fuck outta' here."

Infuriated, Shane turned to Daryl, the gun following suit.

Daryl glared. "Don't you point that shit at me, you fuck." Daryl lifted his gun in suit, and turned slightly so Eve was further away from the barrel of the gun Shane was pointing at them.

"We're not leaving here for anything, you stupid redneck piece of garbage." Shane glared right back.

Daryl growled, but then turned his attention to Rick, "We've got about five minutes before a fuck-ton of walkers come through here."

Rick took a moment to understand. The slaughter of the walkers from the barn used about a hundred bullets. That's a hundred gunshots that walkers around for miles could hear. The steady stream of time it took to kill them all probably led them all right to the farmhouse. It was like ringing the dinner bell for a bunch of starving men. Hershel's farm was no longer safe.

Rick picked up his son and grabbed his wife's upper arm. "Grab everything you can! Throw it into one of the cars and get in. We're leaving! _Now_!" Rick addressed the camp.

Before Eve could even observe what the others did, Daryl adjusted her body on his shoulder and held her by the back of the thighs. He took off running towards his pickup truck.

In the distance a limping walker broke through the trees. It immediately spotted T-Dog and ran as fast as it could towards him even with a lame leg. Its jaw was ripped off completely so the only thing it had for a mouth was the top layer of teeth and a huge gaping hole of where its throat began. Ligaments hung freely from its cheek and wagged in the breeze it created with every step it took.

As soon as the others heard Rick, they quickly parted. Andrea leapt over to Carol and helped the depressed woman to her feet, then dragged her to the campsite where they both started grabbing important items and threw them in Dale's camper. Dale emerged from the trees panting, a bloody shovel by his side, "We've got a problem."

"We know. Get the camper ready, Rick says we're leaving," Andrea gasped while collecting some of the cooking utensils and chucking them into the door of the Winnebago.

With worried and tired eyes, Dale pointed towards the far side of the field. Andrea looked up and spotted the ill walker headed towards T-Dog. T-Dog quickly shot it and yelled over, "I'll shoot the motherfuckers! You guys get our shit ready!"

Rick, Lori and Carl quickly made their way to their tent and packed it up sloppily. Carl was crying and looking all around him, trying to catch any walkers ambling in. The Grimes family threw their tent in the trunk of the van and started packing up camp with Andrea and Carol.

A few more walkers strode into the field. The smell immediately overtook Eve. It was a mix of disgusting rotting flesh and wriggling maggots. She wanted to throw up. Daryl threw the door open to his pickup and dropped her into the passenger seat. He buckled her seatbelt and put the gun he had gotten from Shane into her hands. "Anythin' come close to you, anything at _all_. Shoot the basterd in the head. Ya' hear me, woman?"

Eve clumsily gripped the gun with both hands and looked at Daryl with wide eyes. She slowly nodded.

Daryl put a hand on her thigh in comfort, "Alright. You stay here." He looked down at her with an intense stare and reminded her, "_Anything_, Eve. Shoot it."

Shakily, she responded, "Okay."

Daryl squeezed her thigh and shut the passenger door before jumping over to one of the tents and disassembling it with record speed.

By the barn, Shane, Hershel and Maggie stood, waiting for one to make the first move. A few walkers were peaking through the trees, just about to make their way over to the trio. Hershel's attention was no longer on Shane, and Shane's attention was no longer on Hershel. Hershel stared around them at the walking dead, in horrified awe. Shane stared towards the camp with longing and a feeling of regret where Lori was packing away the few canned goods they had left into one of the cars. The woman was unaware of the silent watcher; she was much more worried about the impending danger.

"Maggie, we have to leave!" Glenn pled while standing off to the side. A female walker crawled towards Glenn and he nervously shot it in the skull, blood and brains raining out from it like a roman candle.

Maggie aimed her gun around the farmhouse property nervously, "...Glenn!"

The young Asian man grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards the cars, leaving her father behind.

In the pickup, Eve sat in the passenger seat shaking. She had never shot a gun and she wasn't ever planning on having to. It was at this point where she desperately missed her cozy job back in the hospital where there was nothing to worry about. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the moseying walker stride up to the door of the car before sticking its gnarled, rotting hand in through the open window.

What was left of its fingernails were covered in dirt and grime. Some had been ripped out completely or were torn up from various attacks. The skin of its hand and arm was grey. Some areas were deeply bruised with purple flesh. There were a few bloody lacerations dripping with pus and mud. Its boney fingers yanked on Eve's long, auburn hair and tried to pull her out of the window. Eve screamed, "Daryl!" The gun in her hand was forgotten as she struggled to open its fingers to free her hair while keeping her limbs away from its teeth.

Daryl dropped the bag he had collected and ran over to his truck. As soon as he was there he took out a knife from his side and artfully sliced through its wrist. The walker howled as its hand was chopped off and turned to Daryl, ready to attack. As soon as the stinking hand of the monster dropped into Eve's lap she screamed again. Quickly fumbling with the gun, she pulled the trigger and shot the thing through its eye before it got a hold of Daryl.

The body dropped to the ground.

Giving a half smile, Daryl spoke, "Good girl." He kicked it out of the way, grabbed his dropped bag, and jumped into the driver's seat of the car.

T-Dog shot the approaching walkers down quickly. Their numbers were growing and they were approaching at all angles. He eyed the man who was standing near him without making any attempts to leave. In between shots he turned to Shane, "Shane! Get in the Jeep!"

The sudden voice broke Shane out of his thoughts. He turned to T-Dog just in time to see a stray walker jump onto the man and bite into his forearm with its diseased lips. T-Dog screamed out in pain as its teeth tore into his flesh and ripped it away from the bone, a river of blood flowing out and dribbling onto the ground. The two men stared into each other's eyes as they knew what was going to happen.

Without a second glance, Shane picked up his firearm and shot the walker in the brain. In another second's time, his changed targets and shot T-Dog in the head as well. Their bodies fell into the grass of the field, becoming one with the pile of dead zombies from the barn.

Shane gave Hershel one last empty look before quietly stalking off towards his Jeep. Hershel stared off at him in disgusted awe. The old doctor glanced back with a dropped jaw at the newly dead. How someone could shoot one of their friends, point blank, without a care in the world was beyond him. Hershel hurried off into his home to gather his own remaining family and decide what to do.

Eve heard gunshots across the field but couldn't make out what happened. She watched as Shane walked towards the camp and grabbed the bag of guns from before. He tossed them into his Jeep which was parked next to Daryl's pickup truck.

Andrea, Carol and Dale jumped into the camper, Glenn and Maggie following behind. Rick Grimes packed his family into their old van and turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone get in your cars! We're headed to Fort Benning!"

Shane grabbed the last of his things and hopped into his Jeep, unperturbed. All four vehicles started their engines and sped out of the driveway, back onto the dangerous roads of Georgia.


	6. Chapter 6

I take no credit for any Walking Dead charatcers or themes.

I've got to upload this quick, I have class in about 5 minutes. Thanks for all the reviews, they mean so much to me and keep me going! I hope you guys like this one, please let me know what you think! I rushed a little at the end, so I apologize if something seems off :P

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><p>At about mid day with the sun high in the sky, the stream of cars leaked onto an abandoned highway in a straight line. Rick Grimes led the way in his van with his wife and son, behind them was the Winnebago holding Glenn, the newly acquired Maggie Greene, Andrea, Dale, and Carol. Following was Daryl Dixon driving his pickup with a bewildered Eve Bishop in his passenger seat, his Harley motorcycle carefully protected in the bed of the truck. Shane Walsh trailed at the end in his Jeep by himself.<p>

The group had lost two members that day; T-Dog and Carol's daughter, Sophia. The news of T-Dog's death was not known by all, however. In the Winnebago, Glenn sat at the table holding his girl, Maggie. Maggie was quietly crying in his arms, feeling guilty for having left her father and other family members behind. Glenn held her close to him and whispered reassuring thoughts into her ear.

Andrea sat at the other side of the table, wide eyed at everything that had just happened. She couldn't believe they had all been that stupid. Of course the walkers would have heard the gunshots. There were so many of them. Everyone just panicked.

The blonde woman's head shot up and she reached up behind her and rested her hands on the back of the bench seat around the "kitchen" table. She looked frantically around the camper, catching the attention of Glenn.

"You okay, Andrea?" Glenn asked with confusion and concern.

"Where's T?" Andrea questioned.

Glenn's head moved back and forth as well as he glanced around the camper frantically. He saw nothing. "Oh shit."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Andrea spoke, "He could be in one of the other cars, right? He could be riding with Rick, or maybe even Shane. I saw him shooting the geeks while we got all our stuff. He probably jumped in one of the other cars. Right, Glenn?"

Carol, who had now composed herself slightly after just seeing her daughter shot, turned back to face them from the passenger's seat in the front of the camper. "What's wrong?"

Glenn turned to the woman with concern on her face, "We don't know where T-Dog is."

Carol's face turned bleak when she heard this. She turned to Dale with raised eyebrows. Wordlessly Dale grabbed the walkie talkie from the dashboard and brought it to his lips, holding it sideways while pressing a few buttons simultaneously.

In the van, Rick led the way back down the highway where the group had been a few weeks previously. Luckily while they had been stationed there, searching for Sophia, a few of the guys had taken it upon themselves to clear the way of cars and bodies. The road to Fort Benning was clear at this point, and it was one thing less for Rick to worry about.

Next to Rick was his wife Lori, who was clutching his hand desperately looking for some comfort. Carl was sitting in the backseat quietly gazing out the window. Every now and then he sniffled and teared up when he thought of his lost friend, but for the sake of his parents he was trying to act like he was okay. The last thing he wanted to do now was stress out his parents. Carl was growing up fast.

From the driver's side door, a beep came. Rick reached down into the compartment at the bottom of the door on his left and grabbed the beeping walkie talkie. He pressed the button to indicate that he was ready to listen.

"Hey, uh, Rick? Have you seen T-Dog?" Dale's wise old voice rang through with a small amount of static shuffling his message slightly.

Rick understood the message but furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at the cars behind him through the rear view mirror. Behind him was Daryl, driving the pickup truck with one hand on the wheel and the other around Eve's seat. There was no one else in the car.

Pressing the button on the side, Rick spoke into the handheld radio, "No. No, I haven't Dale. I thought he was in there with you guys."

Lori put her head in her hands looking upset. "Do you think he got hurt, Rick?"

Rick shook his head, "I don't know. I was busy keeping you guys safe. I wasn't even paying attention!" Rick angrily slammed his fist onto the dashboard, and then pressed the button on the walkie talkie to send his message to Dale, "I'm going to pull over. Maybe he's with Shane."

"Right," Dale sent the last message then turned the walkie off.

Rick put his blinker on and slid onto the side of the road. He wasn't even sure why he was going to the side of the road, it's not like there was going to be any more traffic passing through that they needed to yield to. Force of habit, Rick parked his vehicle in the emergency lane with the rest of the group parking behind him. Before stepping out of the van he gripped his wife's hand harder and stared her into the eyes with a slightly reassuring smile before speaking, "You guys stay here. I'll only be a minute."

He jumped out and placed his hands on his hips, then walked towards where Dale was standing.

Inside the pickup, Daryl shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Aw what the fuck are we stoppin' for?"

Eve sat in the passenger seat with her feet pulled up in front of her. She hugged them to her chest, squishing her large breasts together slightly. Daryl turned to her, catching this sight and lingering there for a moment before pulling over and parking behind the camper.

"You still got that gun right?" Daryl questioned the girl.

Eve looked down at the bottom of the car where her feet should be. The gun Daryl had given her sat in the shadows, glittering under the few beams of early fall sun. Gingerly, Eve leaned over and picked the gun up delicately in her small hands. Her pale blue eyes glanced at Daryl before he nodded.

"I'll be back in a second. These idiots'll get us killed if we stay for stay for too long. I'll be watchin' you from over there." He pointed at where Rick and Dale stood and where Shane was headed before squeezing her knee reassuringly and jumping out of the truck and angrily walking over to the other men.

"You idiots remember what happened last time when we sat like fuckin' ducks in the middle of the road?" Daryl trudged up with his hands in his pockets.

Rick waved him off, "We aren't staying long." He turned to Shane, "Is T-Dog in the Jeep with you, Shane?"

Kicking some dirt, Shane swept a hand over his buzzed head, "No."

Rick threw his hands out in front of him in annoyance, "Then where the hell is he?"

Daryl scanned the area around them, searching for any signs of danger. He almost wished he had Eve by his side because she seemed to have more sensitive ears than he did. She was always pointing out danger a few seconds before he heard it. While he would rather have her with him if something did go down so he could properly protect her, Daryl wouldn't want her to be out where the trouble was happening. She was safe in the car. He glanced back at the pickup for a moment to make sure she was okay before angrily interjecting, "This is why we're out here? Are you fuckin' serious? We need to get our asses out of here. Now."

"He got bit." Shane blurted out with little remorse.

Dale's face went sour. Dale didn't trust Shane, not for the life of him. "Maybe we should go back."

Daryl put his fingers between his eyes on the bridge of his nose like he had a headache, "Oh for fuck's sake. He deserved it after leavin' Merle chained to a goddamn rooftop and getting' him killed. The guy is dead. We're not. We need to fuckin' leave."

Pained at the news, Rick replied, "I know, Daryl. But bitching about it isn't going to get us moving any quicker. T-Dog was a good friend of ours and deserves a proper burial, but given the circumstances, I don't think we can go back."

Dale interjected, "That's not why I wanted to go back."

"Oh, so you think I'm a liar, old man?" Shane glared at Dale from across the small circle they had gathered in.

"Uh, yeah, actually. I do." Dale looked at him with his usually raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

Rick put his hands in between the men, "Enough. Dale, I understand the concern, but Shane wouldn't just leave someone behind. We were all there, if anything like that would have happened we would have seen it." He paused for a second to regain his thoughts. T-Dog was on his mind and plaguing his conscious, but if what Shane said was true he couldn't linger on it. His family needed protecting and he had to continue on. "We need to make a course of action now that we're back out in the world again. It's been a while, but you guys remember how it was last time. We need clothes, food, more ammunition. We need to find somewhere where we can collect everything we need."

"Glasses," Daryl interjected.

The three other men turned to him with confused looks.

Daryl further explained, "I need ta' find a pair of glasses. Good glasses, strong ones."

Rick asked with an inquisitive tone, "Your eyesight going bad, Daryl?"

"It's for his girl. I see her squinting a lot," Shane answered nonchalantly. He had been keeping an eye on Eve when he could and had noticed the odd tendency.

Daryl nodded and agreed with Shane, "Yeah."

"Right, glasses. So it sounds like we need to find a shopping center or mall or something. Everyone keep an eye out while we drive, we should come across something soon. If there are any problems, wave out of your car or use the walkie talkies. We'll all pull over and discuss whatever's going on. Anything else?" Rick looked to the men for any further comments or questions. Nothing. "Okay, let's get back on the highway and try to make some progress before nightfall."

Daryl quickly made his way back to the pickup truck, examining the environment around them for anything askew. Confident that there were no walkers lurking about, he jumped up into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind him.

Eve sat still with the gun gripped in her hand. When Daryl got into the car she turned on the safety and shoved it into the glove compartment, not wanting to hold it any longer. "What's going on?"

Daryl turned the key in the ignition and pulled down the emergency break before speeding out into the road and resuming travel behind the other cars. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the Jeep and made sure it was following.

It was at that moment he realized he almost didn't want Shane to follow. If he sped off and went somewhere else Daryl wouldn't give a fuck. The only thing he was good for was shooting walkers, other than that Daryl thought he was sketchy as hell. When Shane had commented on Eve's eyesight it made his blood boil. Obviously Shane was watching Eve and Daryl didn't like it at all. Feeling protective, Daryl put his arm around Eve's shoulders before answering, "You remember that black guy?"

Eve felt comfortable with his arm around her, and a feeling of safety overwhelmed her. She nodded in response.

Eyes on the road, Daryl responded, "He's dead."

Eve's eyes went wide, "Oh. That's too bad." Never having talked to him, Eve wasn't really sure how to respond. He seemed like a good guy though, and the plain fact that he was part of the group and passed away in whatever fashion bothered Eve. She was a little more sensitive than other people. Her thin brows furrowed in sadness and she studied her hands and started removing the dirt from her long ago painted fingernails.

"You feel bad or somethin'?" Daryl noticed her melancholic reaction and glanced at her with slight concern.

The girl swiped a lock of hair behind her ear, exposing a pair of small, glittering stud earrings on her lobes and answered quietly, "Yeah, I do."

"Why? That guy didn't do nothin' for you ever."

Eve shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. I suppose I just feel like all human life should be respected, or, I don't know… grieved? Appreciated? He didn't do anything for me, but he didn't do anything bad to me either."

Lips pursed in a thin line, Daryl responded, "He got my brother killed."

Quickly turning her head, Eve looked up to the man next to him with concerned eyes, "Huh?"

Daryl drove the pickup quietly for a moment before responding, "Before we were here we were shacked up in a camp outside of Atlanta. My brother and some other guys went lookin' for supplies and everythin' went to shit. Fuckin' officer Rick Grimes showed up, handcuffed my brother to a rooftop, gave the keys to that black guy who died, and left my brother _behind_. T-Dog lost the keys and left him to _die_. My brother sawed his fuckin' hand off and left. And now he's probably zombie food, or he's a walker off rottin' his face off! God dammit!" He lifted his hand off of Eve's shoulders and gripped the steering wheel angrily, remembering the events of the past.

Eve was in awe. The way Daryl made it sound was horrible. Realizing how the actual events could have been a little skewed in his point of view, she quietly reflected on what he said had happened and formulated her own opinions. Her heart ached for Daryl's loss though. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had lost their family even though she wasn't quite ready to discuss what exactly had happened to her yet.

Putting her feet on the floor of the truck for stability, Eve leaned over and rested her head on Daryl's side, wrapping her right arm around his front and hugging his muscular body slightly. She closed her eyes and softly cuddled his side, trying to comfort him in some way. "I'm sorry that happened, Daryl."

Daryl sat quietly and felt the warmth reverberating off of her body for a few moments, just enjoying her company. She smelled sweet and innocently pure. The long auburn locks of hair spilled over her shoulder and onto his lap. Strands of hair glowed wine red in the sunlight but remained a deep coffee brown in the autumn shade.

Reacting, Daryl let go of the steering wheel with his right hand and draped it across her side, softly rubbing her hip in return but saying no words.

The group continued down the highway for a few more hours until the camper ran out of gas. Luckily all along side of the road were abandoned vehicles, so all they had to do was set up a watch on top of the Winnebago and have a few others collect gas for all the cars. Daryl had stood on top of the camper while Glenn and Rick siphoned gas out of the forgotten cars. Shane and Dale put the gas in the vehicles and then they were back on their way. They had seen a few walkers on the sides of the roads and such, but none of them woke up to cause any trouble.

When Daryl hopped back in the truck he saw that Eve had fallen asleep, her head smooshed up against the glass window on her right. They had separated about an hour ago, but quietly sat next to one another just enjoying each other's company. Eve wanted to talk to him but felt guilty after he had revealed to her what had happened to his brother. She felt like she had to explain her past a bit in order to be fair.

Everyone started their freshly filled cars and continued back on the highway. It was starting to get dark, the sun setting softly in the distance and casting a soft red glow around them. After a quarter of an hour Eve started to move in her sleep slightly. Her left hand clenched the seat underneath her and her eyebrows furrowed together as if she was in pain. A soft moan came from her lips.

Daryl glanced over at the girl who was obviously having some kind of nightmare. She shifted in the seat and said something softly under her breath that he couldn't make out. Daryl reached over and gently patted her thigh. Eve woke up with a start. She sat straight in her chair and grabbed her chest, looking around her wildly as if she was expecting something to be there.

"Hey now. You were dreamin', Eve. Everythins' alright."

Eve's ice blue eyes were wide. Her full pink lips started to quiver before she broke out in tears. "Daryl! It was terrible!" She sobbed.

Daryl looked over to the frail girl who looked so delicate and breakable at the moment. He flashed his lights to indicate that everyone should pull over before he turned onto the side of the road and parked.

The strong man turned to Eve and spoke, "Woah there. Yer' safe, nothin' to cry about, doll."

Eve shook her head, "You don't understand! Before you got me I thought it about what happened all day, dreamt about it every night I was in that fishing shack. My step father boarded me in, Daryl! We were out in the woods, trying to scavenge for food. There was nothing, none of us knew how to hunt. My step father led the way through the trees with my mother behind him and me in the back. I could barely see my own hands! It was so dark and I have such bad eyesight anyways. Walkers came all around us! We hadn't seen them because it was so dark! We just started to run but as soon as I took a step I tripped over a root I hadn't seen and twisted my stupid ankle! They heard me scream and hurried to us faster. My step father was shooting the ones that he could, but there was so many! My mom turned around to help me up, but as soon as she did she got bit! All the sudden there were walkers all over her, ripping off chunks," she paused to take a breath, a disgusted and horrified look in her eyes, "They were _eating_ her, Daryl! They ate my mom! My step father grabbed my hand and pulled me away from them while they were distracted. I didn't want to leave her behind but there was nothing I could do! We ran for so long, it hurt so bad but I just kept going. We ended up by that creek and found that shack, then slept in it for the night in order to keep safe. I was so traumatized, I just passed out! When I woke up it was light out and I was_ alone_. I tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge! He left me with a couple cans of food and a bucket, Daryl! He left me behind! And it's all my fault! I deserved it! I would have killed him too if I had stayed!"

Daryl sat in silence and stared at the sobbing girl in the passenger seat of his parked truck, unsure of what to do.


	7. Chapter 7

I take no claims for any Walking Dead themes or characters.

Hey again. Here's the next part. Not too many reviews last time :( Hopefully I get some more this time. Please please please tell me what you think :)

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><p>Eve threw her delicate hands over her eyes and sobbed in the passenger seat of Daryl Dixon's pickup. Daryl had pulled over onto the side of the road after flashing his lights to the others to let them know they needed a minute. After parking on the side of the road in front of Daryl, Rick Grimes turned around in his seat and made eye contact with Daryl from their separate cars, trying to communicate. Rick held his hand up in an "okay?" gesture, and Daryl held a single finger up, indicating they would be ready to continue in a second. Rick nodded and turned back so he was facing the front of his car, looking around the area to make sure it was safe.<p>

Back inside his own car, Daryl turned to the girl next to him, her frail figure quivering in the falling sunlight. Placing a hand underneath her chin, he raised and turned Eve's face so that it faced him. However, her haunting blue eyes were still downcast.

"Eve," Daryl spoke sternly, trying to get her attention.

The girl continued to look downward, sniffling at the memories of her nightmare and past life, reliving the feelings of guilt and fear all over again.

Holding her chin softly but firmly, Daryl spoke again, "Look at me, Eve."

It took a moment, but eventually she looked up and stared into his deep blue eyes, a few tears dripping and falling over her cheekbones. Trails of glittering wetness were left in their wake. Dark lashes framed her wide and elegant eyes and shimmered with trapped tears under the dim light.

"There's those pretty blues." Daryl smiled softly when she looked up at him, causing Eve to smile slightly in return. He continued to speak, "Darlin', despite what ya' think, it wasn't yer fault. I don't know why you think that why, but it aint right."

Eve bit her lip, doubtful of his words.

"No, don't give me that look. I already know what yer thinking and ya' aint said nothin' at all. You didn't do nothin' wrong."

The girl shook her head, "If I hadn't had tripped….If I could _see_ properly…"

Daryl shook his head. "No, Eve. Don't think like that. Look around us. You aint in that shed anymore, Eve. Yer here with me, and I'll watch after you, ya' hear?"

Wide eyed, Eve soaked in the words he said but quietly replied in almost inaudible tones, "But…I don't want anything to happen to you."

Daryl shook his head. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ears, he spoke, "Aint nothin' goin' to take me down, Eve. Especially no brainless bag-of-bones dead freak."

A soft laugh came from Eve's pouty lips. Hearing her chuckle and seeing her smile made Daryl's pulse race.

"Do you promise, Daryl?" Eve softly inquired.

Rolling his eyes, Daryl laughed, "Yeah, I promise, you silly woman."

Eve smiled and nodded. They stared at each other for a few moments, just studying each other's faces. Eve noticed the lines of his eyes, and how tan his skin was from days of work outside. She saw the small mark above his lip and his prickly golden stubble around his jaw and mouth.

Daryl visually traced the lines of her full pink lips, up and down her cupid's bow and back to the pouty bottom. Her cheekbones were pronounced and elegant. Her skin was pale. Most notably, Daryl stared into her eyes as pale blue as the arctic ocean, glittering like stars in the night sky. Long, thick and dark lashes framed them and defined them. A pair of thin and graceful brows sat above her eyes.

Eve smiled suddenly and quickly reached over to Daryl, pulling his face towards hers, pausing right before their lips met. He could feel her hot, sweet breath on his face. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before closing them and feeling the warmth radiate between their bodies. Daryl reached a hand up and softly held her pale cheek, brushing the wetness from her tears away with his rough thumb. He closed the space between them by gently pressing his lips to hers.

Daryl Dixon knew from that moment that he would do anything to keep Eve Bishop safe and keep her smiling. He would do anything in his power to keep her with him for as long as he could.

"You think something is wrong?" Lori asked her husband Rick in the van.

"Nah. I think those two just needed a moment." Rick smiled at his wife. Carl was sleeping in the back seat. Rick figured they would need to stop for the night and get something to eat soon. They would travel up the road a ways and then settle down for the evening when they found somewhere suitable.

"You think they like each other?" Lori always loved to gossip a little. With everything that was going on with her it was nice to get some of the attention off of herself. She could only imagine the conversations going on in the camper after everyone heard the news of her pregnancy.

Rick smiled and shook his head almost in disbelief, "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

Lori laughed, "Why the skepticism?"

"If he's anything like his brother, Merle, I can hardly understand what Eve sees in that man." Rick chuckled.

"Rick! Merle is dead, we can't make fun of him anymore," Lori stated, fighting back laughter.

Rick put a hand up to his forehead with a small grin, "I know, I know. I'm just teasing. Dixon is a good kid. I trust him. And Eve seems to as well."

Lori turned in her seat to spy back on the pickup truck behind them. Dale had pulled the camper up further between them so Rick and Lori had a good view of the truck. She spotted the two just as Eve pulled Daryl's face to hers passionately. Lori snorted and laughed, "Well, maybe I won't be the only pregnant one for long."

"Lori!" Rick jokingly scolded his wife.

She turned back around in her seat and innocently spoke, "What?"

Rick shook his head and squeezed her knee with his hand, "You're bad!"

Lori closed her eyes and chuckled, "I know."

Soon, Daryl flashed his lights again and the group headed back onto the road. Rick led the way down the highway, scouting for a place to spend the night comfortably. They wouldn't be setting up tents or settling down; they just needed a strategic area where they all could rest for a few hours until dawn.

The sun was going down slowly but as soon as Rick felt it was getting too dark to continue safely, he pulled into a grassy field next to the edge of the road. The group parked their cars front to back, creating a relative circle they could use as a common-area for the night that was relatively well protected. The men decided to take shifts doing the look-out while dinner was prepared from some of the cans they had stocked in the Winnebago over a fire that was started in the central area.

Carol sat on a rock near the side of the fire, holding herself in the cool night air. Dale gently rested a blanket over her shoulders, to which she dimly smiled in thanks before wrapping it around her old, frail figure while staring into the nothingness of the flames. Andrea and Lori were cracking open cans of chicken noodle soup and pouring them into the pot resting over the fire, quietly chatting with one another. Carl sat by his mother while he scanned the area and made sure nothing was sneaking up on them, the gun his father had given him a few days back still in its holster on his belt.

Daryl had led Eve out of the truck and sat her next to the fire, careful not to put any pressure on her ankle. By now it was only a dull ache, and Eve could definitely tell it was healing. All it really needed was a break from having any weight on it, and spending the entire day sitting in a car had helped. Eve sat with relative poise for her current ailment, but posture was part of her nature. Daryl asked if she was okay before he walked off to talk with Rick. Shane had taken lookout duty around the camp, stalking the perimeter with the gun he hadn't let go of since this morning. He had not talked to anyone since the incident; he just kept his head to himself and glared at the surrounding trees and shrubbery while many different thoughts went through his mind. Maggie sat on Glenn's knee while they both huddled near the fire, waiting for dinner to be served. Maggie was still relatively upset but being close to Glenn made her spirits rise a bit. This is what she wanted and what she achieved, and now she had to privately deal with any feelings of guilt. She kept a soft smile on her face for the sake of appearances within her new group.

"So, how's everybody feeling? Nice to stretch the legs out, I presume?" Dale addressed the group by the fire as he held his back while sitting down next to Eve.

Andrea nodded with a sneaky smile, "Oh yeah, definitely. My ass fell asleep about three hours ago so it can only get better from there."

Lori laughed, "All I know is that I'm _starving_." She stirred the pot of chicken soup while smelling it from above with closed eyes and a longing look.

Dale nodded with a pleasant smile, "Well I suppose that's all good to hear. How are you feeling, Lori?"

Lori raised an eyebrow, "Am I going to have to hear this for the next nine months, Dale?"

Folding his hands in his lap, Dale smiled, "Of course."

Lori rolled her eyes but smiled in appreciation, "Great."

Andrea fetched the bowls from the camper and Lori poured a bowl for everyone, leaving some in the pot for Rick, Daryl and Shane who were watching the camp.

"So, Eve, I hear you're a pharmacist."

Startled that she was being included in the conversation, Eve swallowed the bite of food she had in her mouth before responding, "Yes, sir, I am."

Dale raised his eyebrows at her response, "And polite too? Where'd you get that from?"

"Oh, my mother had me attend finishing school when I was younger. I guess it just stuck around me. Sorry."

The older man shook his head, "No need to apologize. We like you just the way you are." Dale put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly before continuing his thoughts from before, "So, I've got a big ol' bag of pills that I have no idea what they do. How about I leave them with you so you can look through them tomorrow?"

"Definitely, I would love to help." Eve smiled shyly before continuing to eat her chicken soup in silence, just observing the conversations going on around her and laughing at the group's antics. Everyone was in high spirits, but the memories from this morning were on the back of everyone's mind. Ignoring the incident almost made it seem like it never happened, and no one could afford any of their time to properly mourn. They would continue on by trying to have a good time and making each other laugh.

On the edges of the camp, Daryl and Rick walked with one another stealthily, looking for any signs of danger. The area was surprisingly quiet and had no walkers from what they could tell, however they wouldn't let up just because they thought it was secure. The men would keep on the lookout until they left the area tomorrow morning to make sure the group and their women were safe.

In quiet, whispering tones, the men spoke to one another. Rick held a shotgun while gazing through the trees as best as possible. "So, everything okay with you and Eve?"

Daryl held his crossbow up and stared at the man with no discernable emotion, "Why?"

Rick raised his eyebrows at Daryl's defensive response. "Just making sure there isn't anything I could do to help."

Daryl scoffed, "Well, you could keep fuckin' Shane away from her; that could help. I'd suggest keepin' yer wife away from him too, you know?"

Rick sighed, not knowing how to respond. Daryl was right; something was cracking inside of Shane. He didn't act the same anymore. Something was going on with him, but they needed him there too. He was a good fighter, a good hunter, and right now they needed all the help they could get. "I'll take that advice."

Daryl and Rick soon made their way back to camp and quickly ate their dinner. Glenn switched to take lookout on top of the camper, watching the surrounding area from a pair of Dale's binoculars.

Daryl sat next to Eve and put his arm around her to keep her warm. "You had enough to eat?"

Eve nodded and yawned, a bit tired from the day's activities. Her rest in the car was unfulfilling and awkwardly painful. "Yeah."

"Good. You tired?"

Andrea and Carol were cleaning up from dinner, rising off the bowls and putting them back into the Winnebago. Dale said his goodnights and went to sleep in the back of the camper, Lori and Carl sharing the bed across from him. Rick was going to sleep on the ground in between the two beds in the back, and Glenn and Maggie were sharing the sofa by the kitchen table. Carol and Andrea were sharing the floor of the camper in the main area. Shane had quickly eaten his soup and had left the group again to sleep in his Jeep.

Daryl spread out a sleeping bag in the bed of his pickup, having had moved the Harley motorcycle a few moments earlier. He grabbed a few other blankets from the backseat of the car and laid them out over the sleeping bag.

Daryl grabbed Eve by the waist, lifted her up onto the bed of the pickup truck and sat her on the makeshift bed. "You okay here? You need anythin', _anythin'_, and you yell out. I'll come runnin'. Alright?"

Crawling up to the top of the bed of the truck, Eve slipped underneath the covers and shimmed down so that she was laying properly. "When will you be back?"

Daryl folded the blankets over top the laying girl and tucked her in.

Eve held the blankets tight to her figure and stared up at him with wide eyes underneath the sparkling stars in the dark night sky.

Expressionless, Daryl replied, "A few hours, at most."

Eve nodded silently before Daryl returned the nod and stalked away with his crossbow up high near his face and made his way towards the trees.

Looking up towards the skies, Eve noted the stars and the vastness of the heavens above her head. It was early fall at this point, not cold yet but not getting any warmer. Soon they wouldn't be able to sleep and gather outside because it would be too cold. It was never extremely chilly down here in the south, but it wasn't healthy to be exposed to the elements during these seasons.

Eve's pale blue eyes drifted over to the camper where Glenn was sitting atop in a sun chair, the binoculars held tight against his eyes. He would be switching soon with Rick and making his way to where Maggie was sleeping, but for now he was keeping watch on the central camp while Daryl stalked the perimeter. Eve felt relatively safe knowing there were people looking out for her, but she would feel better if Daryl was close.

After a few minutes Eve slowly drifted to sleep in the back of Daryl's pickup, blankets clutched around her small figure underneath the sky.

Hours later in the dead of the night, Shane woke up in his Jeep, ready to switch with Daryl. He grabbed his shotgun and tucked his own gun from when he was at the police headquarters into its holster on his belt. Quietly he jumped out from his car and shut the door behind him. It was a few hours past midnight at this point and the only sounds he heard were the calls from the animals in the cover of the forest and a soft breathing coming from the back of Daryl's truck.

Stealthily Shane walked over to the bed of the truck and looked down over the side. The girl Daryl had found the other day laid on some blankets, her tight stomach exposed to the cool night air. Apparently she had pulled the covers down in her sleep and the shirt she wore was pulled up slightly so that her stomach and part of her ribcage was showing. Her skin practically glowed in the moonlight.

Shane noticed her plentiful bosom pushing against the fabric of her shirt with every breath, a few locks of her auburn hair spilling over her shoulders and around her head. Small sighs came from her slightly parted pink lips. She was thin and in shape, and her skin looked so soft and pale. Unknowing, Shane reached out a fraction of an inch towards the slumbering girl.

A hard hand gripped Shane's shoulder. "You ready to switch?"

Shane whipped his head around and saw the young Asian boy, Glenn standing behind him with a cautious and suspicious look.

Shane brushed his hand off of his shoulder and took one last look at the girl before making his way into the trees. Rick sleepily walked out of the trailer and walked over to Glenn, exchanging a few words before taking the binoculars and climbing the back ladder to the top of the camper.

Daryl came out of the trees as soon as he saw Shane's approaching figure and walked over to the bed of his truck to the girl he had left sleeping there.


	8. Chapter 8

I take no claims for any Walking Dead themes or characters.

Here's chapter 8! Sorry about the wait, I had finals last week and I've been doing a lot of prep for the holidays. If you're ever wondering when the next chapter should be out, check my profile page and there should be some kind of update telling you when it should be out. Thank you for the reviews! They mean so much to me; please _please_ review! :)

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><p>The air came out from Daryl Dixon's mouth in barely visible clouds as he exhaled in the dark of the night. It was starting to get cold and his muscled limbs left uncovered by the sleeveless shirt he wore started to tingle in the cool atmosphere. He flexed the muscles in his arms and squinted towards camp for a moment seeing Shane's figure stalking towards him in the shadows.<p>

Shane held his shotgun by his side, his brows low and his shoulders hunched as if he were about to pounce if one word was said to him. Ignoring the usual odd behavior of the man, Daryl walked right past him without giving him a second glance. He lowered his weapon when he hiked into the central area they had created with the cars and made his way over to his pickup.

Rick Grimes was on top of the camper with Dale's binoculars in hand. He sat on a sun chair with a warm blanket wrapped around him, trying to protect himself from the blowing wind. Through the binoculars the entire area was in view. He proceeded to watch the perimeter, thinking about how they had been lucky so far. No walkers had been spotted, probably because they hadn't been making much sound. If there were any in the area they were probably swarming Hershel's farmhouse from the uproar of gunfire. Rick cocked an eyebrow at the thought, a small amount of guilt seeping into his stomach. Hugging the blanket closer to his body, he watched as Shane walked into the trees and disappeared from view.

Standing at the end of the bed of his truck, Daryl looked inside at the girl he had in his care. Eve lay gracefully over the blankets, the covers pulled down below her stomach and her shirt slightly pulled up and exposing her flat stomach. She shivered when a slight breeze blew by them and sighed softly. Eve's auburn tresses laid around her head like a halo, a few falling over her shoulders and resting over her round breasts. Daryl watched the girl for a few moments before placing his crossbow on the side of the truck bed, jumping up quietly and sitting down next to her, careful not to make any noise that would have woken her up. He lifted the blankets and slid underneath next to her, adjusting them so she was fully covered and protected from the night chill. In her slumber, Eve held the top of the blankets closer to her face as she unconsciously sought warmth.

Daryl lay on his side next to Eve, staring at her petite frame and face. Her full pink lips were slightly parted as she breathed. She glowed under the light of the moon. Daryl thought she was beautiful. He stayed still when he felt her move in her sleep, turning so that she faced him. Once Eve felt the warmth radiating from his body, she scooted over and softly grabbed his arm, nuzzling her face into it. Daryl felt the infinitesimal amount of strength in the delicate fingers clutching his arm, knowing that he could snap them if he held them too tightly. It amazed him that something so beautiful could be so breakable at the same time.

Daryl turned to lay flat on his back. Following his movement, Eve rested her head on his strong chest and placed her arm over his torso, holding herself to him. With a protective arm, he held her waist close to him and shut his eyes, feeling the sensuality of her feminine body pressing against his. They fell asleep together in the back of his pickup truck, all thoughts of any prospective danger behind them.

At dawn, when the sun started to peek over the hills, the camp started to stir from their sleep. The long, uncut grass had sparkling dew on its tips, slightly frozen from the night before though the sun was melting it quickly. Shane and Rick were still awake making sure nothing approached the camp, clutching their guns by their sides. Dale was the first to exit his Winnebago, stretching his old bones and waving to Rick on top of the camper. The older man proceeded to start up the fire before climbing the metal ladder attached to the back of the vehicle.

"You tired, Rick?" Dale stood next to the man wrapped in the warm blanket, both of them speaking in quiet tones as not to disturb the others.

Giving a tight smile, Rick shrugged. "I don't even know if I remember what a good night's rest feels like... Maybe that night back at the CDC was the closest."

Dale smiled and nodded, "Sounds about right." The two men stared off in the distance at the rising sun for a few moments before Dale crossed his arms and turned back to Rick, staring into his eyes. "We're running out of supplies, Rick."

Any semblance of a smile on Rick's face disappeared. He tapped his foot a few times and turned his head away from Dale for a second before replying, "Yep. I know, Dale."

Dale brushed his hand over his bearded face. "It's getting cold, too. We'll need things besides food and bullets; heavy jackets, boots, blankets, maybe a place to stay-"

Rick cut him off, "I _know_, Dale."

Dale noticed the dark circles under Rick's eyes and the shadow of a beard coming in over his jaw. Dale held his hands behind his back and nodded before affixing his hat to his head and making his way back down to the fire.

Slowly the camp started to wake up, and Daryl was among the first. The sunbeams sliced through the tree limbs of the nearby forest, levitating straight towards his eyes. He always was an early riser, even now so more than ever. It was hard for him to get to a full state of relaxation knowing a horde of walkers could jump in and massacre everyone at any moment. In the beginning he didn't give a shit about anyone of these people, some of them he still didn't. Daryl had a hard time connecting emotionally to other people but for some reason Eve was able to get past all that. As soon as he heard her voice in that shack he was overcome with some kind of emotion, he was really sure what. After losing Merle he wasn't really sure how to feel; upset, happy, depressed, relieved? Merle was a few things to Daryl. He was his brother, he was a funny motherfucker, and he was a real goddamn son of a bitch. This tiny girl next to him was one thing; _pure_. It gave him a reason to continue, he deliberated. He would take care of her.

Sliding out from the makeshift bed in the back of the truck, Daryl grabbed his crossbow and jumped out from the end. He immediately spotted Rick and Dale talking on the top of the camper in hushed tones but ignored it and walked around the side of the vehicle. Gently grabbing the blanket he shifted when getting out, Daryl re-tucked in the girl, observed the area around her to make sure nothing was nearby, then proceeded to open the passenger side door and grab a new shirt from inside. Daryl switched tops and looked up at the top of the camper again, giving a curt wave to Rick before marching into the shade of the trees for the morning to see if he could hunt any small game for their meals.

Later, holding her hands over her head, Eve scrunched her nose and stretched her whole body for a second, waking her body from a full night's rest. She opened her pale blue eyes and looked around her. Daryl was nowhere in sight, but she could sense that he had been here.

Even though they had only known each other for a short while, Eve felt bonded to this man. In the back of her mind she knew that he had slept next to her. It made her stomach twist and made a soft blush come to her cheeks. Sharing a bed with him in any other situation would have been odd and uncomfortable, but in this world things were different. She almost felt like she had to hold herself back from acting on her feelings, but knew she would follow his lead. Eve felt herself becoming attached to Daryl more and more every minute.

Eve sat up in the truck bed, looking around the camp as best as she could. She squinted her eyes slightly to get a better look at the people in the distance. It looked like mostly everyone was awake and gathered around the fire eating breakfast. Gently slipping out from the truck, Eve hopped over to the fire and sat down next to Dale.

The old man smiled when he saw Eve approaching. Once she sat down he spoke, "Well good morning there, Eve. Just the girl I wanted to see!" He slapped his hands on the top of his thighs for emphasis.

Eve lifted her eyebrows in surprise, "Why is that?"

Dale nodded and got up from his camping chair, quickly walking inside the camper and coming back out after a few moments with what Eve could identify as some kind of bag.

Carol was standing by the pot hanging over the fire, expressionless. Ladling out some of the food, she poured it into a bowl and handed it to Eve without saying a word. Eve gave a small, gracious smile. "Thank you, ma'am." After passing the bowl over, Carol took her own and walked away from the group, holding herself and lost in thought.

Dale walked back over and sat down again, gazing at the lost woman walking the edges of the camp. A solemn look overcame him while observing Carol. He slightly leaned over to Eve and whispered to her, "She'll pull through…" Dale tightened the hat on his head before sitting up straight and holding the bag back out to the girl. "Here are those prescriptions I promised. I figured it would be something to keep you busy, if you wanted."

Eve fingered the plastic grocery bag filled with pill bottles. There were at least two dozen different kinds of medicine in there but she could already identify most of them without even taking them out of the bag. The girl smiled. "Thank you, Dale. I'll get on this right away."

Dale returned the smile and nodded before turning back to his food.

Lori and Carl sat opposite her, talking to each other and laughing.

"It was like a sticky lake! I thought I was going to drown!" Lori threw her hands out in emphasis, a large grin on her face.

Carl sat next to her with his arms crossed and a slight blush on his cheeks, holding himself back from laughter. "Shut up, mom!"

Lori was teasing Carl about how he had slept the whole night with his mouth open, drooling so much that Lori had to swat him away from her. Carl was laughing so hard he almost choked on his breakfast. His lost friend was still at the back of his mind, but laughter was one of the best coping mechanisms they had out here.

Glenn sat with them by the fire, cackling at Lori's story. "Oh my god, that's freaking hilarious."

Up on top of the camper was Andrea. The blonde headed girl had volunteered to switch with Rick and now that she was a good shot they trusted her enough with the job. She stood straight, shoulders back, the binoculars tight against her eyes, thinking quietly to herself. Andrea constantly felt like she had to prove herself to the rest of the camp, almost like she wanted them to know she was important and wasn't just weighing them down. After Amy had died Andrea was always beating herself up. Why couldn't she have protected her? Why had she been so stupid to let Amy go by herself? Though the initial sting of Amy's death was starting to dull, she was still left with the emotions caused by her guilt and shame and was on a mission to make sure it wouldn't happen to anyone else she cared about. Andrea lifted a hand and wiped back some blonde bangs away from her face, observing every tiny movement her eyes caught around the camp, ready and willing to shoot.

"Daryl went out to hunt. Well, that's what Rick told me, at least," Lori informed Eve.

Eve nodded then went back to eating her breakfast quietly, the bag of pills resting on her lap.

Rick Grimes walked over to the group by the fire with his hands in his pockets. Lori stopped talking to Carl and watched with confusion on her face at Rick's grim appearance.

"What's up, Rick?" Lori questioned her husband.

Rick drew his lips in a thin line. "Morning, everyone." He waved lightly. Eve watched in silence, pausing her meal to observe what was going on.

Rick continued, "Last night, Shane spotted a shopping complex, out that way," he pointed behind him towards the north, "A few of us will be looking into it later and seeing what we can bring back."

Lori sighed, her face looking tense and stressed. She held Carl closer to her and waited for elaboration.

"Glenn, Daryl and I will be traveling out there today. Shane and Dale will be here, looking after the camp-"

A sharp cough from above them made everyone look up. Andrea stood on top of the camper with her arms crossed and an eyebrow cocked.

The slight humor broke the tense mood. Rick smiled and corrected himself, "Shane, Dale and _Andrea_ will be looking after the camp. Daryl should be back soon, I presume. I haven't let him know yet, but he said he had some things he wanted to collect so I'll extend the invitation as soon as I see him. Is everyone okay with all that?"

Lori bit her lip, but nodded. Carl wanted to go with his father but already knew the answer that would be given to him if he asked. He stayed quiet by his mother's side.

Dale crossed his arms, "Sounds good, Rick. I'll look after your wife, don't you worry."

Rick nodded and tilted his hat in gratitude, walking into the camper to talk to Glenn and collect what he needed for the trip.

About an hour later Daryl strode through the trees again, a few squirrels hanging by his side, tied with hemp to the belt loops and wagging with every step he took. When he walked into the main camp he cut them with a knife and dropped them on a small table that had been placed by the fire.

Almost immediately Rick Grimes walked up to him, "We found a shopping center. You in?"

Expressionless, Daryl nodded, "Lemme' grab my shit."

Rick returned the nod, "We're heading out in a couple minutes." He then walked away to find Glenn.

Daryl walked over to his pickup and opened the door, collecting various items and packing them away on his person. He looked through the rear window and saw Eve's head while she sat in the bed of the truck, her hair shinning a dark wine red in the sunlight. Collecting the last things he needed, he shut the door quietly and walked around to the side, folding his arms over the metal side and resting his head on his hands with a slight grin. "What're ya' up to, woman?"

Eve jumped and held a hand to her beating heart. "You scared me, Daryl!"

Daryl laughed, "Yep."

Eve glared at him but couldn't help smiling as well.

Looking down, Daryl noticed what she was doing. The girl sat cross-legged on top of the blankets he had laid out last night, her posture still straight and elegant. Laid out in front and around her were many piles of different kinds of pill bottles, a piece of paper by each with different instructions written on them.

"Organizing," Eve explained simply.

Daryl nodded and smiled a tight smile before walking back around to the side door of his truck, opening it, reaching into the glove compartment, and grabbing his own bag. He walked back around and opened the freezer bag filled with his brother's pills as well as some others he had come across, dumping them into the middle of Eve's organizational project.

The bottles knocked into the carefully arranged piles. Eve gasped and lightly punched him in the shoulder, "Daryl!"

Daryl laughed a deep, amused laugh. "Here's some more to keep ya' busy while I'm gone."

Eve's expression immediately changed to concerned. As soon as Daryl saw her emotion, he spoke, "Naw, none of that, ya' hear? I'll be back later. You stay in sight of the others. No wandering off."

The girl bit her lip, but nodded, quickly immersing herself again in the prescriptions surrounding her.

"Hey," Daryl called her attention again.

Eve looked up.

"Hold out yer' hand."

Eve held out her hand and watched as he placed a small hand gun into it, the same he had given her the day before.

"If it comes out to it, ya' know what to do." Daryl stared into her ice blue eyes before squeezing her hand for a moment then letting go and walking away towards where Rick and Glenn were standing at the edge of camp.


	9. Chapter 9

I take no claims for any Walking Dead themes or characters.

Thanks for hanging on there guys! Sorry this took a little while to come out, I was busy with family and holiday stuff. Well anyways, here you go. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you guys rock! Reviews keep me going! Please tell me what you think!

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><p>Rick Grimes led the way through the trees in the late morning sun, Glenn and Daryl following behind. In the past Glenn had always been good at getting in and out of Atlanta so he was an obvious asset for this trip. Daryl held his crossbow in front of him, fully stocked with arrows. He watched for anything that may sneak up behind them while following at the end.<p>

The three men each had their own bag strapped to their back so it would be easy to get what they needed and run, nothing to drag or weigh them down. They walked silently but quickly through the abandoned forest with their eyes peeled and ready for anything they would come across. The shopping center slowly came into view as they made their way closer.

Eve sat on the bed of Daryl's truck, reorganizing her piles and writing down different instructions on some sheets of paper she had gotten from Lori. Only women would think to collect a bit of paper during the apocalypse, and Lori had offered it up when she spotted Eve's work. The girl had smiled graciously before smiling to herself and slightly chuckling at the thought of how Lori had managed to carry this with her for this long.

A voice interrupted her thoughts, "That's some mighty fine script you've got there."

Eve looked up when she heard the voice. Dale stood by the side of the pickup and smiled as he usually did.

Eve paused what she was doing to examine her handwriting on the paper in her hands. It was loopy with flourishes every here and there. She had been taught script from a very young age and been forced to practice it daily. It was one of those things that had stuck around with her. Slightly bowing her head, Eve spoke, "Thank you, Dale."

Changing his attention, Dale clapped his hands together and gazed at the organized mess in front of her. "Oh wow! I see you've been busy!"

Eve laughed, "Yes, I have! I'm organizing everything based on what they do, like all the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen, piroxicam, nabumetone, or naprozen, are over there. Then I've got the anti-allergy meds like cetrizine, loratadine, and some epinephrine injections in the middle. And then the antibiotics like azithromycin and amoxicillin are over there, you know?" Eve pointed out a few of the piles along the way and finished with a smile.

Dale looked bewildered but nodded. Looking at one of the piles in the far corner, Dale pointed towards it and asked somewhat suspiciously, "That pile looks a little suspicious." He laughed.

Eve's smile vanished a bit and a slight flush came to her cheeks. Embarrassedly, she replied, "Oh. That's what I'm calling the 'miscellaneous' pile."

Raising an eyebrow, Dale questioned further, "Hmm… and what happens to be in there?"

Eve looked down and started cleaning her nails nervously, then spoke in quiet tones, "Just some things I'm not really sure what to do with… It looks like we have some bupropion and sertraline, which are anti-depressants. And someone picked up some sildenafil citrate, which is an _impotence_ treatment antibiotic, like _Viagra_…" Eve chuckled awkwardly then continued, "And that unmarked bottle over there is something I'm guessing to be a psychoactive, like ecstasy. The only way I can really tell is because if you look close you'll see playboy bunnies imprinted on them. That's not particularly common with pharmaceuticals." Eve laughed at her small sarcasm.

The both of them sitting in silence for a moment awkwardly, the both of them staring at each other, waiting for the other to act. A few seconds later Dale snorted and broke out in laughter. "Oh, wow! Looks like we're covered for any situation, right?"

As soon as Dale snorted laughing, Eve broke a grin as well. "Where on earth did all of this stuff come from? I mean… _ecstasy?_"

Dale calmed himself before shaking his head and looking up towards the sky. "Well, Daryl's brother was one hell of a character, I'll tell you that."

Furrowing her brows in through, Eve nodded, "Hmm… Okay, I'll buy it."

"Any other interesting finds?" Dale put his hands on his hips.

Eve nodded and pointed to a few bottles while she spoke, "Yeah. We've got some _serious_ pain medication with some sedative properties; sufentanil. That could come in handy if something particularly bad happens. There is also some heartburn medication, maybe Lori could use that as her pregnancy continues; pregnant women tend to get a bit of heartburn in the beginning stages. That clear bottle is benzodiazepine, which is an extremely potent sleeping pill. That could also be of some assistance. You really only need a half of one of those at a time though just to get a good night's sleep; they are _very_ strong. We also have all the usual stuff; Motrin, Advil, Tylenol, and some Robitussin as well. I'm not so confident about using the liquid cough medications though; they could be infected."

Dale looked at the petite girl in awe, "You certainly know your stuff, there. I'm glad we came across you, Eve."

Smiling, Eve looked down, "You're too kind, Dale. Thank you."

Dale held his hands out in front of him, "Don't thank me Eve. You need anything, let me know, okay?"

The girl nodded, then got back to work making individualized labels for each bottle listing out possible uses and directions to make it easier for everyone to understand_._ Underneath the shinning rays of the early autumn sun, Eve felt content with herself at that moment. She felt like she was actually making a difference here and like she was contributing what she could in return for these people's hospitality. All she could do now was continue her chore and wait for Daryl and the others to return.

At the edge of the trees, Rick, Glenn, and Daryl stood in the cover of the shade behind some wide tree trunks. The complex was in front of them across the parking lot. It was a single story strip mall of sorts with a generic drug store on the end, a Kinkos next, an expensive feminine boutique, a jewelry store, a nail salon, and a cozy looking coffee shop on the other end. It wasn't exactly what they were hoping for, but at least they could stock up on some of the items they needed.

The problem wasn't the lack of gun store or other diverse Wal-mart type store; it was the walkers in front of it. About a dozen walkers hobbled around the front parking lot, slow moving with limp limbs and gashed faces and skin. Since it was broad daylight there was no sneaking around them. It was too close quarters anyways; even if it had been dark there was too much of a chance that the walkers would hear them and attack. The men didn't know what was inside the stores either, so they couldn't just run and dive inside. Chances were that there weren't any walkers inside the complex, but for all intensive purposes they had to assume that was the case.

From behind the tree trunks, Rick turned to the other men and spoke in a whisper, "The stores are separate, and I'd like to go into a few of them. We'll have to kill them all so we can freely access everything."

Glenn sighed with a worried face. He shook his head. "Aw god damnit."

Daryl quietly scoffed at the scared man and examined at his crossbow, "I've got six arrows. If we get 'em over here one at a time I could shoot 'em down and get the arrows back."

Rick nodded with a blanched expression, and then turned to Glenn with a look of assumption. Glenn noticed the way Rick was staring at him and sighed again, putting his hands over top his head. "I know that look, Rick. Why _me_?"

"You're experienced with this, Glenn. You're the only guy I trust enough with this kind of job," Rick spoke to him encouragingly.

Glenn rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, I'll play zombie bait again."

The young man stood with his eyes closed for a few moments, his hands still on his head. He was mentally preparing himself. After a short time, Glenn opened his eyes and sighed again. Holding onto the trunk of the tree with a pained look, Glenn popped his head out towards the shopping center to see what was around. There was one female walker who was within twenty feet of them. She had a few golden bangles on her emaciated wrists and a disheveled looking pearl necklace hung over her withered décolletage as she hobbled around aimlessly looking for the source of her next meal. Almost immediately when Glenn wiggled his hand towards her she belt out a raspy screech and shuffled towards them desperately.

With a limp in her step, the walker rushed towards Glenn, unknowing of the others silently hiding in the trees waiting to attack her. Her rotting arms reached for the young man and he noticed how she was missing a few fingers, bloody holes in their place. Glenn grimaced and sat still. "C'mere zombie, zombie, zombie," Glenn taunted in a whisper.

The taunt made the walker rush faster, scream, and start grabbing onto the air in front of it. A few other walkers looked over at the direction of the noise and mindlessly studied what was going on.

Daryl noticed the change in the walkers' demeanor and cursed Glenn's stupidity, "Fuckin' christ."

As soon as she was almost too close for comfort, Daryl shifted positions so he could neatly see around the corner of the tree trunk, aimed, and let go of the bow string; effectively shooting her in the eyeball so that she dropped dead to the ground. A few spurts of mucky blood oozed out over the arrow as she hit the dirt.

Daryl rolled his eyes and glared at the young Asian man, "Yeah, that's right. Let's fuckin' make 'em mad while they run over to us!" Daryl sarcastically reprimanded Glenn's jeer at the walker.

Glenn held his hands up in innocence, "Geez, I was just trying to get it over here."

Daryl shook his head with an unamused look.

Rick, who still had his eyes on the shopping center, discreetly pointed out another walker who was getting close. Sighing, he spoke, "One down, ten to go."

Daryl leaned over and yanked his arrow out of the walker's skull, unfortunately taking the eyeball with it like a piece of meat on a shish kabob. He held onto the back of the arrow and whipped the front towards the ground, allowing the graying and withered eyeball to slide off and bounce to the ground, rolling into a small ditch filled with leaves. Looking up and reaiming, Daryl spoke gruffly, "Let's get this shit over with."

Eve was in the camper, gently placing the newly organized medications in a small cabinet in the central living area. Each bottle was labeled accordingly. Once everything had been put away carefully, Eve stood back and smiled at her work before closing the cupboard and leaving the Winnebago into the afternoon sun.

Lori spotted Eve walking out of the camper and waved her over, noticing how delicately she walked with her injury. The older woman was sitting on a folding chair in a patch of grass a little pulled back from where Carl sat on the ground playing cards with Dale, who sat in another fold out chair. They were too preoccupied in their game to listen, and not particularly in hearing range anyways. Eve came over and sat on a chair next to Lori while she gazed at her son with an expressionless face.

"How're you feeling?" Lori asked Eve, a hand up to her eyes to block the sun.

Eve looked down at her ankle, "It's feeling pretty good today, I think."

A soft laugh came from Lori. "No. That's not what I meant. How do you feel about Daryl being gone?"

Eve furrowed her eyebrows, "Oh. I hadn't really thought about it until now. I was kept busy before, but now that I'm done and you brought it up…" Her thoughts trailed off and she nervously brushed some hair behind her ear.

Lori nodded. "Sorry." She looked down for a moment before sighing and putting on a half smile, "That's usually how I feel. Watching Carl keeps me occupied, but I can never really shake it."

Eve glanced over at the boy quietly playing go fish with the elderly man, the both of them blurry in her vision. Embarrassed at her condition, Eve flicked her eyes to her lap, making sure her condition hadn't degenerated that much more and that she could still see that far from her eyes properly.

Lori continued, "I used to be angry when he kept leaving. But he came back every time." Lori scoffed and rolled her eyes, smiling. "_Every_ time. There was a point when I thought I had lost him, but he came back to me. I guess I'm just not used to it. I mean, before, when he used to leave, he would be going to the grocery store, or going out for drinks with some of the guys from work. But now… Now he's leaving to kill zombies. To collect food for us so we don't starve. Things aren't like they used to be…"

Eve bit her lip and nodded. "I try not to think about how it used to be. It doesn't matter anymore, right?"

Lori looked up, her eyes catching something moving in the distance. Shane walked into camp from the trees looking slightly tired and sweaty. Blinking, Lori responded, "Right."

"Haven't seen you in a while, stranger," Andrea called to Shane from the top of the camper.

With a straight face, Shane looked up at the flirty Andrea and said nothing, brushing her off and walking over to where the fire pit they built last night was. The fire was out since it was too warm for one. If the sun wasn't beaming down on them it would have been colder, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Shane stalked over to the small table that had been hastily placed by the fire pit and sat down in a chair, grabbing the squirrels Daryl had caught before he left and yanking a knife out of his boot. Quickly, Shane skinned the animals and started cleaning and preparing them for lunch.

Andrea rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip, quietly responding to being ignored, "Whatever." She sat back down in the camping chair and looked through the binoculars, making sure the camp was safe.

Sleepily, Maggie Greene walked out of the camper, rubbing her eyes. Lori waved her over after she and Eve had watched the exchange between Shane and Andrea from the other side of the small yard. Maggie walked over and sat cross legged in the grass. The three women started chatting quietly, waiting for their men to return. Shane glanced over at the women every now and then from lowered brows, slicing the meat into pieces and sweating under the beaming sun.

The parking lot was clear, the bodies of dead walkers piled up near the three men behind the trees. Daryl yanked the last arrow out of the head of one of the dead, wiping it off on their slightly dirty shirt before reloading and turning to Rick.

With his hand on his hips, Rick spoke, "Alright. Now that that's done, let's say we do some shopping."

Daryl nodded with a small grin. "Sounds good to me, officer. Let's get the fuck out of here."


End file.
